The Life of a Vampire
by Cherri Snow
Summary: She's bubbly. She's klutzy. She's caring. She's sweet. She's different. She's a vampire. She's Mikan Sakura! NxM!
1. Chapter 1

**--The Life of a Vampire—**

**Summary: ****She's bubbly. She's klutzy. She's caring. She's sweet. She's different. She's a vampire. She's Mikan Sakura! NxM!**

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN GAKUEN ALICE OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!!! THEY BELONG TO THE VERY AWESOME HIGUCHI TACHIBANA-SAMA!!!**

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Author's Note: Beware of extreme OOC-ness at times!!! I WARNED YOU!!! And Mikan and the gang are fourteen years old and in the Middle School Branch. Anyways… Enjoy! I hope you like it!**

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

Outside the gates of Gakuen Alice at six in the morning was a young girl in her early teens, about thirteen or fourteen. She looked at the giant school with satisfaction.

"This looks like it'll be fun." She muttered.

"Hey, you!" A guard yelled from the other side of the gate. "This area is off-limits! Only students and staff of this academy are allowed here!"

"Is that so?" The girl leaped over the twenty-foot tall gate effortlessly.

The guard took a couple steps back in surprise. The girl smirked and a sharp, white fang became visible as it twinkled in the light.

"Y-you must be our new student! The v-va-" The guard stuttered over his words.

"That's right. Come on. Say it." I took a step forward.

"V-va-va-vamp-" The guard bit his tongue numerous times trying to get out the single word.

"_Vampire_." The girl laughed coldly. "Now, go let the headmaster know that Sakura Mikan has arrived at Gakuen Alice."

"Y-yes ma'am! Right away!" The guard started running to the main building.

"Oh ya. And one more thing." Mikan added.

"Y-yes ma'am?" The guard stopped and turned back around quickly.

"Tell the headmaster that I'm going to go find breakfast. And I'll be careful not to show too much evidence on my meal." Mikan licked her lips.

"Y-yes ma'am." The guard hurried away.

Mikan snapped her fingers. Purple bat wings materialized on her back.

"It's show time!" She leaped high off the ground and flapped her wings a couple times before starting to glide in the sky. "Now, who will welcome me and become my first prey?"

**Natsume's P.O.V**

I lied on a tall branch of the tallest sakura tree in the sakura tree grove near the Northern Woods.

I was confident that my fan club wouldn't find me here. They passed here only ten minutes ago and obviously failed to see me. How could they chase me around so early in the morning? But now I could get some much-needed rest.

I haven't gotten any sleep for the past three _days_ because of the continuous missions assigned by Persona. That annoying alice limitation mask also kept me from getting any sleep during the day. I only got it off earlier this morning when I came back from my mission protecting the headmaster that came back from somewhere to secretly meet a 'very important person' which he didn't even get to see face-to-face. The 'VIP' actually sent him on a wild goose chase throughout Japan for two days and only talked to him through an intercom into a tiny concrete room that was the end point. The part that amazed me was that the headmaster wasn't the least bit annoyed and didn't complain to the mystery person for even a second. Apparently, that person was too amazing to think badly about for even a billionth of a second.

I wondered what kind of person he was. And of course I would assume that it would be a man. After all, I can't imagine the headmaster getting down on his knees to some woman. Was he a major sponsor of the academy? No. That's not enough. Does he have something that the headmaster wants very much? No. He would have it by now. Does the headmaster owe him something extremely huge? No. He would never let himself be in anyone's debt. Does he have an amazingly strong and useful alice that could wipe out the existence of the world in a blink of an eye? No. What kind of alice would that be? Probably not existent. So why? Why is he so important?

'Forget it. Thinking about it won't bring answers to me. All I need to focus on right now is sleep.' I convinced myself to take my mind off of the matter.

I closed my eyes slowly and let myself drift into sleep. Not too long later, I felt something biting my neck. It felt like fangs and even though it was biting, it didn't hurt at all. I opened my eyes but my vision was blurry because my sleepiness still in effect.

'A snake?!' I thought.

"Uh oh! He's waking up!" I heard a voice right after the fangs left my neck.

I felt a sudden gust of wind, as if a giant bird just flew away. I wiped at my eyes quickly in hope of seeing what bit me. I searched the ground but found nothing. I remembered the gust of wind and looked up. I only barely saw a figure in the sky before it disappeared before a low cloud.

"Who… or what was that?" I muttered under my breath.

I put my hand to my neck where the thing bit me. I felt four small holes where it must have bit me.

"Was that a _person_ that bit me?" I thought out loud. "No… That's stupid… People don't just bite each other… Besides, people don't have fangs."

**Mikan's P.O.V**

"That was close… Oh well. He probably shook off the idea like everyone else that almost caught me." I shrugged. "Let's see… I guess it's about time to go introduce myself to the headmaster properly."

I flew to the main building where the headmaster was. I landed behind a large tree and made my wings dissolve.

I walked into the building and found the door that led to the headmaster's office quickly. It's not very hard to find considering the giant double doors and the two bulky guards that stood outside it. There was no doubt that the guards had strong alices to accompany their physical strength.

The guards were about to stop me but I flashed my fangs and they froze in their tracks immediately.

"Is there a problem with me introducing myself to the headmaster?" I asked with a tone full of authority.

"N-no, ma'am." One guard took a step back.

"N-not at all, ma'am." The other guard bowed politely.

I smirked in satisfaction. I rapped on the door lightly but loud enough to hear clearly.

"Sakura Mikan. Permission to enter, sir." I said in a professional tone.

"Enter, Miss Sakura." The headmaster said from inside.

The guards opened the double doors for me. I stepped through calmly and gracefully.

The headmaster sat behind his large wooden desk.

He had a clean, wealthy, and professional appearance. His jet-black hair was combed neatly. He wore a dark gray suit with a black and white checkered tie. There was no doubt that his shoes must've either been polished. He wore an expensive gold watch and lots of jewelry that obviously had powerful alice stones in each. At the look of his face, he couldn't be older than 27.

"You may leave. I do not require your presence at the moment." The headmaster said to the four guards that stood inside his office.

"Yes, sir." The guards said in unison.

The guards hurried out the doors then closed them behind them quietly.

"Please have a seat, Miss Sakura." The headmaster indicated to the comfortable-looking chair in front of his desk.

"Thank you, Headmaster." I walked to the seat and sat in it.

"Please, call me Kazuma." The headmaster said.

**(A/N: I doubt that that's the real name of the headmaster (if there is one, of course) but some reason, that's the first name that popped into my head. Besides, it kinda seems fitting with my image of the headmaster. And… The name isn't letting me think of any other good names.)**

"Then you can call me Mikan." I smiled kindly.

"Tea? Coffee? Or maybe blood? We prepared a supply of the best quality for you from our alice hospital in case you wanted it served in a cup." Kazuma joked.

"Tea will be fine. I already had a good fill of my 'juice' before I came here." I giggled. "Sorry, but I couldn't resist myself once I got here. And I found an unusually delicious taste too."

"Really? Would you know by any chance of who that may have been? I can arrange for there to be blood provided by that person at anytime." Kazuma poured me a cup of tea.

"Let's see…" I used my Identity alice to find out the profile of my prey earlier. "Ah. Hyuuga Natsume, Fire alice, Dangerous Ability, age 14, Middle School Branch, Class A. Seems like he's in my class. How convenient."

"Oh! So you found our school 'favorite'! He's quite a rebel but I suppose that adds to his charm with the almost-whole female population of our academy. He's a tough one but I'll arrange for it immediately!" Kazuma reached for his office phone on his desk.

"No need for that. That takes away all the fun of hunting. "I took a sip out of my tea. "If you don't mind, of course. It won't hurt him. Actually, my venom will temporarily boost his special abilities like his alice."

"Oh? Do you mind explaining about that more in detail?" Kazuma looked at me attentively.

"My venom has very special and unique powers. When I bite into my prey, my venom goes into their blood stream. Keeps the blood from flowing from the holes after I finish my meals, keeps the blood from running out, and boosts their special abilities." I began to explain. "Holes where my fangs bit in will be there for a top of five minutes but will disappear without a trace after that. The blood could run out by normal accidents such as a car accident or by another vampire sucking it dry. But when I drink, it's basically an endless supply. And about boosting their special abilities, it's only temporary. Their special abilities would be something like their alice if they had one or if they were very fast runners. Those sorts of things would be boosted considerably."

"Really? That's amazing!" Kazuma said with extreme interest. "And I noticed that you said 'your' venom. Is it only your venom that can do those things? Or do other vampires' venom have that ability too?"

"No. It's only mine. I'm a very special vampire." I smiled. "So, back to the subject of me being a student here…"

"Oh! Of course!" Kazuma said. "So you'll be in the Middle School Branch, Class A as you know. And you'll be a special star, the very best rank we have here! But may I ask of a favor? Do you mind to have a single alice and maybe go in disguise or something of that sort? If the AAO were to find out we have a student as special as you, there's no doubt they would come and put our students in danger."

"Sure! I was going to do that anyways." I said. "I think I'll keep the name the same, go as a single star, be in the SA class, and have just the Nullification alice. I'll also pose as a clumsy, stupid, and innocent girl that is too happy to realize most things. How does that sound? I think that'll keep the AAO from guessing."

"That would be perfect but you don't have to go so far as to where it looks like you're degrading yourself…" Kazuma said.

"It's okay. I've always wanted to try that kind of character." I said.

"If you say so…" Kazuma agreed. "What about your room? A single star's room isn't that impressive. And I won't be able to sleep knowing that our most special new student is staying in such a small room…"

"If you don't mind, can I take one single star room and one special star room? I can enter and exit the single star room but I can just teleport to the special star room." I said.

"I don't mind but what if someone comes to visit your single star room?" Kazuma asked.

"Simple. I can use my tracking alice to see if anyone is outside that room. And if someone is suspicious and tries to spy on me at night while I'm sleeping, I can make a clone of me to take my place at the single star room." I explained.

"Amazing! That's pure genius! Completely flawless!" Kazuma clapped in amazement.

"Let's see…" I hacked into the main computer's database with my technology alice and searched through it with my mind. "For the single star room, room D-12 is open. For the special star room, room A-2 and A-3 to A-10 is open. How does A-5 sound?"

"Great!" Kazuma nodded.

"Well, I'm sure you're busy and I don't want to distract you from your work. Besides, I wanted to take a quick look around the campus." I got up. "And I think I'm going to start going to class starting today instead of tomorrow. Better to get a head start on things."

"Okay. You can come see me at anytime! Don't hold back to ask me any questions!" Kazuma said.

"Thank you very much. I'll make sure to do so whenever I have a question. And thank you for the tea. It was very delicious." I bowed politely.

The doors opened as I walked through. I nodded to the guards and they bowed. They closed the door behind me.

I walked outside and to the side of the building. I checked to make sure that nobody was around with my Tracking alice then popped my wings out. I jumped several hundred feet straight up off the ground then started to fly.

It was a hot day so I dived through a large cloud and came out the other side wet. I flew at extremely fast speeds to dry the water that was on me. Once I was dry, I slowed down so that I could just wander in the skies over the academy.

"The view is perfect from here. I can see everything perfectly! And with the help of my Sight alice, I can see even better!" I looked around, magnifying my view on anything worth looking at. "Let's see… There's where the Middle School Branch Dorms are… And there's the Middle School Main Building… And that huge group of shops must be Central Town… The famous Northern Woods…"

It was 7:30 AM now so many students were starting to walk to class. I looked closer to scan through individual faces. I used my Identity alice to identify each one then put them all to memory using my Memory alice quickly. I only paused if I found a person that would be one of teachers or a classmate.

"Narumi-sensei, also known as Naru… Jinno-sensei, you shall now on be called Jin-Jin… Noda-sensei, also known as Nodacchi… Misaki-sensei… Serina-sensei… Makihara-sensei… Persona… Shouda Sumire… Seems like she's going to be an annoying girl… Hyuuga Natsume… Oh. That's the one from earlier. I'll make sure to put him in special memory… Nogi Ruka… Hyuuga's best friend, huh? And Imai… Hotaru?" I stopped and zoomed in closer to her face. "She looks colder but that's definitely her. But why is she here? I wonder if it's the same reason as me… I should ask her about it. I need to clear things up with her anyways."

I turned invisible then flew down to the back of the school building. I landed behind a tree gracefully then dissolved my wings. I saw a reflection of myself on a window.

'I don't look innocent enough. I'm lacking something…" I thought about it for a second. "Got it!"

I made two red hair ties with strawberry beads on them. I tied them into my hair to make pigtails. I set a wide grin on my face and added a little bit more color so I didn't look so pale. I checked my new look in the window.

"Perfect." I nodded in self-approval.

I started to skip to the front of the building. My tracking alice automatically found Narumi walking the same direction.

'This will add to my clumsy image…' I skipped straight into Narumi.

I started to fall and as I expected, he caught my arm and put me back on my feet. I bowed quickly.

"I'm _so_ sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going! I was off in my own little world again! I really shouldn't do that… Especially on my first day coming to class…" I apologized.

'Perfect acting. Not even a professional would be able to notice that it's all an act!' I thought.

"It's okay. And did you say that it's your first day coming to class?" Narumi asked.

"Hai!" I nodded excitedly. "Middle School Branch, Class A! I'm Sakura Mikan!"

"Oh! So you're the new student that I heard about from the headmaster! He said that you would be attending class starting tomorrow though…" Narumi said.

"At first, I was going to start tomorrow but then I decided that I wanted to start today once I heard about how great this academy is from the headmaster! Now that I think about it, I must've been such a pest since I took up so much of his time and then I even insisted to start today! Oh no! I hope he won't hate me…" I bit my lip and looked down at my feet.

"I'm sure he didn't mind! He's a very kind and forgiving headmaster!" Narumi smiled warmly. "And I don't mean to say this in an offending way but… I heard from the headmaster that your personality was a little different…"

"That was probably my mom again! She said that she found a great school that she wanted me to go to. She probably said a little white lie to get me in…" I giggled. "But it's all because she loves me so much! She couldn't wait for me to start making friends here!"

'Poor girl… Her mother was probably like all the other ones that were trying to sell their kids here for some money… And to go so far…' I read Narumi's mind.

'The perfect believable story that gives that impression to anyone who knows how it is most of the time with the alices here. He's totally believing it!' I thought.

"Well, I don't think you'll be disappointed with this school! I'm sure you'll make lots of friends and have lots of fun!" Narumi looked at his watch. "Class will be starting soon so we should get moving! By the way, I'm your homeroom teacher, Narumi!"

"Thanks a ton, Narumi-sensei! I'm already feeling welcome here!" I followed Narumi into the building and to the classroom.

"By the way, Mikan-chan?" Narumi said as we were walking down the hallways.

"Yes?" I looked up at him innocently.

"What's your alice? I didn't hear much about you from the headmaster other than your name and when you were coming." Narumi asked.

"Nullification! And I'm going to use it to protect all my friends that I'll make!" I replied.

"Nullification? That's quite a rare alice! And that's a wonderful idea!" Narumi grinned as we reached the classroom. "Here we are! Welcome to Class A of the Middle School Branch! Can you wait here while I let everyone know that you're new?"

"Okie dokie!" I nodded happily.

Narumi slipped into the classroom. I set up innocent, positive thoughts for any mind readers in the class.

'I have to look like I'm still inexperienced at using my alice!' I thought.

"We have a new student! Please welcome her kindly!" Narumi said. "Come on in, Mikan-chan!"

I threw the door open then skipped in energetically. I pretended to trip over my feet and landed on the ground. I cushioned my fall with a tiny bit of air using my air manipulation alice.

"Owwie…" I got off the ground.

Most of the class erupted in loud laughs. I giggled in embarrassment and hurried to Narumi's side.

"I'm Sakura Mikan, Nullification alice, single star! Pleased to meet you! I hope we can be really good friends!" I said cheerfully.

I looked around and found Natsume quickly. He sat in the back with a manga over his eyes.

Next, I found Hotaru. She stared at me with wide, surprised eyes. When she realized that I was looking at her, she changed her look to a cold, cruel glare.

"Let's see… About your partner, Mikan-chan… I was actually just ordered a while ago to assign you to Natsume-kun by the headmaster!" Narumi said.

'Kazuma-san must've arranged that right after I left.' I thought.

"Umm… Who's Natsume-kun?" I asked the class.

Everyone except Hotaru looked at Natsume. Natsume still had the manga over his face. He didn't move a muscle.

"You can sit next to him too since there's an empty seat there." Narumi said. "And I'll leave everyone to have a free day to get to know Mikan-chan!"

Narumi skipped out of the classroom. Hotaru got up and walked right past me without giving me even a single glance.

"Hotaru! We need to talk! I'll wait for you on the rooftop of the dorms!" I said as she walked by.

"Don't expect me to come. I'm not planning on forgiving you." Hotaru said coldly then walked out of the classroom.

"You know Hotaru-chan?" A girl that I identified as Anna asked me. "By the way, my name is Umenomiya Anna! Call me Anna! Can I call you Mikan-chan?"

"Hai! We were childhood friends! We were very close!" I replied. "And sure!"

"It sounded like you two had a really bad fight…" Nonoko said. "And I'm Ogasawara Nonoko! Call me Nonoko!"

"Well… Ya… It's really my fault though." I looked down sadly.

'That much is true though…' I thought.

I saw Natsume leaving with a blonde-haired boy that I recognized as his best friend, Ruka Nogi. I started walking towards Natsume so I could introduce myself to him properly but Sumire and a couple NatsumeRuka fan girls stepped in front of me.

"I don't know what kind of blackmail you used on the headmaster to become Natsume-kun's partner but I'm going to get to the bottom of it! I'll make sure to reveal your true self! No matter what!" Sumire threatened rudely. "We're going to make you regret becoming Natsume-kun's partner! And we're warning you now: don't get close to Natsume-kun and Ruka-kun! You'll never get approval from us, the NatsumeRuka fan club led by me, Shouda Sumire!"

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I had no idea he belonged to you! I was just going to introduce myself to him properly because I didn't want to be rude to my new partner! Do _really_ need to have permission in order to be polite?" I said in a slight mocking tone.

"Are you trying to stand up to me, worthless girl?!" Sumire took a step forward, trying to look threatening.

"Of course not! Who would _dare_ stand up to the almighty Shouda Sumire-_sama_?!" I scoffed.

"Sakura Mikan! You will take back your words! I swear it!" Sumire strutted away with the rest of her fan club members following after her.

'So easy to annoy.' I smirked mentally.

"Amazing, Mikan-chan!" Anna gasped.

"You were so brave!" Nonoko's eyes sparkled in admiration.

"You _actually_ stood up to Shouda Sumire!" Anna and Nonoko said in unison. "_Nobody_ dares to talk back to her!"

"Eh? Not really… I just really don't like it when people think they're better than everyone else!" I rubbed the back of my head.

"But even so, you should watch your back… She will play the meanest pranks to get what she wants!" Anna warned.

'No problem! That'll make things interesting!' I thought confidently.

"Thanks! I will!" I said. "Well, I need to go to the roof of the dorms to wait for Hotaru! See ya later, Anna-chan, Nonoko-chan!"

"Bye!" Anna and Nonoko waved as I walked away.

I used my Tracking alice to check if anyone was around the Middle School Dorm roof. It was clear. Convenient.

I walked to the back of the building then made my wings appear again. I leaped into the sky and flew around a bit. On the way to the dorms roof, I found Natsume. I landed close enough to reach him by foot quickly but not too close.

"Natsume!" I skipped to him energetically.

He was sitting with his back against the trunk of a large sakura tree. He had a shounen manga covering his face and pretended to sleep. Most likely to try keeping others from bugging him like I was about to.

"Hey, Natsume!" I snatched the manga from his face.

"You're being annoying, little girl." Natsume said rudely. "And what gives you the idea that you can address me in such a friendly way?"

"We're partners now! And I have a feeling that we're going to be great friends!" I said cheerfully. "And in return, you can call me Mikan!"

"What's up with this sudden order from the headmaster to make you my partner?" Natsume asked, obviously not liking the idea. "Another fan girl I assume?"

"About that… There's a little thing behind that… But it's a secret!" I held my index finger up to my lips and winked cutely. "But trust me; I'm not a fan girl!"

"Whatever. Anyways, you are disrupting my 'peace and quiet'. Was that all you wanted to say?" Natsume snatched back his manga.

"I just wanted to introduce myself properly!" I bowed. "Sakura Mikan, Nullification alice, special ability! It's nice to meet you!"

"You've done what you came to do. Now leave. You're wasting my time." Natsume waved me away like an annoying fly.

"What about you? You have to introduce yourself too!" I pouted.

"If I do, will you leave me alone?" Natsume sighed.

"Yup!" I nodded happily.

"Hyuuga Natsume, Fire alice. Now get out of my sight before I burn you." Natsume produced a fireball that hovered over his hand.

"See ya later, Natsume!" I skipped away.

Once I was out of sight, I made my wings again and flew to the dorms roof. I found Hotaru wasn't there, but I didn't expect her to be there anyways. I landed on the ground of it silently and made my wings disappear. I took the uncomfortable hair ties out of my hair and sent them to my room with my Instant Teleportation alice.

"Now all I have to do is wait for Hotaru! Knowing her, she'd come while giving an excuse like not being blamed for making me sit out here all night like she's sure I would." I leaned against the fence that surrounded the roof.

**Two Hours Later**

Finally, the door leading to the roof opened. As I expected, Hotaru was standing there.

"I knew you'd come." I got off the fence.

"Even though I came, that doesn't mean that I've thought of forgiving you for even a second. What you did was unforgivable." Hotaru gave me the cruelest look I've ever seen her have on her face. "I can for the sole purpose of letting you know that. And now I'll be leaving."

Hotaru turned around to go back through the door but I closed it using my Telekinesis alice and kept it forced closed. Hotaru whirled around and glared at me.

"You can at least listen to what I have to say." I said.

"Why should I? And the door isn't the only way out for me." Hotaru looked at the fences.

"You wouldn't jump. This is five stories off the ground. And even if you did get away, you can't run away forever. Why beat around the bush? Just get it over with now." I said calmly.

Hotaru glared at me long and hard but finally sighed and gave up. She walked to the fence and leaned against it, making sure to keep at least a three meter distance between us.

"I guess I should start with saying sorry. Sorry about what happened four years ago. Sorry about what I did. And sorry about breaking our promise that we _swore_ to keep _no matter what_. I know it's my fault. I'm not going to come up with an excuse and try making myself sound innocent." I bowed to her in apology. "I'm not expecting you to forgive me and honestly, I would be dead surprised if you did. If I was in your place, I probably wouldn't forgive myself either. You're right, it's unforgivable. I-"

"Are you going to get on with it or are you going to ramble on about how wrong you were? Because all you're doing is burning daylight that I could use to do my important things. I'm a very busy person." Hotaru interrupted me. "And I don't have all day. Or rather, at this rate, forever."

"Technically speaking, that would be a lie. You _can_ have forever. But that's not the point." I waved the idea away. "The point is, I want to explain the whole story behind it all. My part of the story that you missed. Maybe it'll make you hate me a little less; maybe not. But-"

"You're rambling again. And if you make another one of those speeches, I really will jump." Hotaru indicated to the fence with her thumb.

"Okay, okay. I'll try keeping it short." I sighed. "Let's see… Where should I start…?"

"It doesn't matter. You better keep it brief though. I'm leaving in exactly 15 minutes, done or not. And I _will_ jump if you try to resist." Hotaru pulled out a small rooster shaped stop watch. "Watch me if you don't believe me."

"I believe you. You'll probably use one of those weird inventions like a flying squirrel to catch you." I said.

Very few would be able to see the difference but I was in that few and I saw the extremely brief weakening in her expression. From what I saw, I knew I was spot on with the flying squirrel to catch her. And she knew I didn't read her mind. But she recovered from her surprise just as fast as it came.

"The timer is starting now." Hotaru pulled the red part of the rooster's head and the mouth came wide open revealing a timer.

I saw Hotaru try to get comfortable against the fence. I did the same.

"Okay. I guess I'll start from the beginning." I took a deep breath.

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Author's Note: Tada! My new series that I'm starting! I actually meant to finish and release this chapter like a month ago but… I've been busy. I joined a manga scanlating group, I've been bombarded by TONS homework lately, and to add the cherry on top, I've had a tad bit of author's block. But anyways, sorry for taking so long! I'm also going to start 'Cardcaptor no Sekai no Omoide wo Sagashite'. I've already started working on chapter one but it might take me a while to release it at the rate I'm going at. But I'm going to try updating chapters every two weeks for each. If I have to go on a hiatus (which is possible with how long I procrastinated on this and my other fan fiction.) I'll put a notice on my profile page. So if I don't update within two weeks, check my profile page. So… ya… That was a lot… But that's about it so… See you in two weeks or less (hopefully)!**


	2. Chapter 2

**--The Life of a Vampire—**

**Summary: ****She's bubbly. She's klutzy. She's caring. She's sweet. She's different. She's a vampire. She's Mikan Sakura! NxM!**

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN GAKUEN ALICE OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!!! THEY BELONG TO THE VERY AWESOME HIGUCHI TACHIBANA-SAMA!!!**

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Author's Note: I just realized something extremely stupid. I didn't put 'Chapter 1' in the first chapter! How stupid am I? Anyways, putting my stupid-ness to the side, let's get started on chapter 2!**

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Last Chapter**

"_The timer is starting now." Hotaru pulled the red part of the rooster's head and the mouth came wide open revealing a timer._

_I saw Hotaru try to get comfortable against the fence. I did the same._

"_Okay. I guess I'll start from the beginning." I took a deep breath._

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Chapter 2**

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Flashback (Seven Years Ago)**

"_Ne, Hotaru? Do you know why these teeth are so much sharper than everyone else's teeth?" I poked one of my canine teeth. Though it was only a slight touch, the tooth was so sharp that it pierced the skin and made it bleed but the wound healed almost immediately. "Or why we heal our wounds so fast?"_

"_No. I was wondering the same thing. We should ask Auntie Yuka!" Hotaru suggested._

"_Yeah! Let's ask mommy! She would definitely know! She knows everything!" I agreed._

_We hurried inside to find my mom. We found her quickly. She was in her office grading papers._

_She was the only fourth grade teacher in the village so she was always busy. She would be making class work, making home work, setting up the lesson plan for the next day, or grading papers. But even so, she always listened to our problems and answered whatever we wanted to ask. She would never lie to us; no matter how bad the truth was. And she always made time for us and made sure we had plenty of attention._

"_Mommy! Mommy! Can we ask you a question?" I pulled on her skirt._

"_Hmm? What is it, Mikan-chan, Hotaru-chan?" Yuka turned her attention from her work and set us on her lap. "Ask anything you'd like!"_

"_Why do we have such sharp teeth compared to everyone else?" I pointed at my teeth._

"_And why do we heal so much faster than everyone else?" Hotaru asked._

_Yuka's usually strong and bright eyes showed a bit of hurt for a moment but it disappeared just as fast as it appeared._

"_I guess it's about time I told you two about it." Yuka took a deep breath. "You two are different than everyone else."_

"_Umm… Auntie Yuka, we already know that much…" Hotaru sweatdropped._

"_But do you know what's different?" Yuka asked. "What specifically? Not the things that describe it."_

"_No…" Hotaru and I said._

"_The one thing that is different about you two is…" Hotaru and I leaned in eagerly. "that you two are…"_

"_We are…" Hotaru and I repeated._

"_Vampires." Yuka said._

"_Vampires!?" Hotaru and I gasped. "But doesn't that mean that we have to drink blood?!"_

"_Normally vampires _do_ have to drink blood. But you two have grown up not drinking it or trying it so you don't need it. If you had tried it once, then you would feel a strong thirst for blood and you would have to drink it or else you would lose your sanity." Yuka explained._

"_Then Mikan-chan," Hotaru faced me with a serious expression. "promise me that you'll never drink blood! Not even the smallest taste! And you'll never thirst for it! Never ever! Don't even think of it for half a second! If you do, I'll never ever _EVER_ forgive you ever again!"_

"_I promise!" We linked pinkies. "And you too!"_

"_You two are so sweet." Yuka smiled at us gently. "Now, why don't you go play outside? The weather is great!"_

**2 Years After That**

_I walked with Hotaru and my very close friend and classmate, Yumi, to the park._

"_I'm going ahead. I'll get some drinks." Hotaru jumped onto her handmade scooter that she disguised as a normal scooter._

"_Thanks, Hotaru-chan!" Yumi called after her._

"_Remember, strawberry soda for me!" I reminded her._

"_I know! And melon soda for Yumi!" Hotaru yelled back._

"_Hey! Look, Mikan-chan! A wild horse!" Yumi pointed at the tall hill that was just barely visible from the town._

_I used the Sight alice that I copied from Yumi and followed her finger. As she said, there was a wild horse at the top the hill._

_The horse was completely black and obviously untamed._

"_Let's go see it! Maybe it'll even let us ride it!" Yumi said excitedly._

_Yumi _loved_ animals. She always takes in strays and she could never resist staying away from any animal that she lays her eyes on. This was no different._

"_But it's not tamed! It might kick you!" I warned her. "You might get hurt really bad!"_

"_You worry way too much! I'll be fine! Besides, animals love me!" Yumi giggled as she started running to the horse._

"_Yumi-chan! Wait!" I chased after her._

_In no time, we arrived only a couple feet away from the horse. I stopped and got down on my knees and hid behind a bush, but Yumi kept going. She slowed to a walk and continued to the horse. She calmly and slowly held out her palm face-up._

"_Yumi-chan! Forget it! Let's just go to the park! Hotaru is waiting for us!" I said in a hushed voice. "If we take too long, Hotaru will get mad at us! And you know how scary Hotaru is when she gets mad! Besides, if anyone sees us up here with an untamed, dangerous animal, we'll be in huge trouble! Mom will never stop nagging about how dangerous it was!_

"_Don't worry, Mikan-chan! I'll be careful!" Yumi turned around and gave me a thumbs up in assurance._

_Suddenly, the horse panicked as if something just tried to shoot it. It stood up on its hind legs and whinnied loudly. Yumi whirled back around and gasped. Her eyes were wide and her body was frozen in fear. I shot up from behind the bush._

"_Yumi-chan! Run!" I yelled. "Run!"_

_Yumi could only stand frozen in place. Her only movement was her trembling body and her quick, panicked breaths._

"_Run!" I yelled louder._

_I ran to her and tried to pull her hand but she didn't budge._

"_Yumi-chan! Let's go!" I pulled harder. "The horse is going to attack us!"_

_The horse came back down from its hind legs and the front legs were about to hit me but Yumi suddenly realized what was happening and gained her ability to move. She pushed me away and took my place in the line of danger._

"_AHHHH!!!" Yumi screamed in pain as the hooves pounded down hard on her back and sent her to the ground with two large, bleeding wounds._

"_YUMI-CHAN!!!" I shrieked as the horse galloped away._

_I fell to my knees next to Yumi. Tears started to stream down my face. I could only stare at her helplessly._

"_Yumi-chan… I'm so sorry… I should've been the one to take the blow…" I sobbed. "This is all my fault… I should've tried harder to stop you…"_

"_It's okay, Mikan-chan. And don't say that. I'm just glad that you're okay!" Yumi smiled at me weakly. "It's all my fault. I should've listened to you. Then you wouldn't be crying, ne?"_

_As the blood gushed from the wounds, I wished that I had the healing alice but since I hadn't met anyone with the healing alice, I couldn't copy it. At this rate, I knew she wouldn't die from the wound but from losing too much blood. And the closest hospital is ten miles away. There's no time._

_Suddenly, clear as ice, I realized what I had to do. I had no choice and no time. After all, this is a life-or-death matter! I can't let my promise with Hotaru stop me. And I don't care if it disgusts her so much that she hates me! I'm a vampire! It's natural for a vampire to drink someone's blood!_

'_Kami-sama… Anyone! Please… Please let me be able to save her. I don't want her to die!' I prayed silently._

"_Since you are my daughter – the daughter of an angel – I will grant you the power to save her. You will be able to stop her bleeding and she will heal faster... But she will also find you unbelievably disgusting. She will no longer think of you as a friend, but as a monster. Looking into the future has told me that. Would you rather her to forget you instead of her going on knowing _what_ you are?" I heard my mother's voice in my head._

'…_Yes. I would rather her to forget me than have that burden in her heart of discovering such a disturbing secret.' I replied._

"_Then I will also give you the alice stone of Memory. It can show you memories, relive memories, and erase memories. It will be absorbed into your body and unlike most alice stones, it will never fade away so you can use it forever and as much as you'd need to." Yuka said and I felt a new power inside me._

'_Thank you, mother…' I thought gratefully, knowing she would hear me._

"_Yumi-chan, I'm about to do something that you're definitely going to hate but it'll make you better. Okay? Just close your eyes for me. Please." I said. "And it's going to hurt for a little while but it's all for the better, okay?"_

"_Mikan-chan? What is it?" Yumi asked as she closed her eyes obediently._

"_Just try to keep your mind off of it." I bared my fangs._

"…_Okay. I trust you, Mikan-chan." Yumi said._

_I stared at her wounds for a moment and hesitated before finally leaning forward and sinking my fangs in. I started to suck the blood. I was surprised that it came so naturally. Like a naturally born instinct that was just realized. Oh, right. It was._

"_Mikan-chan! What are you doing?! Stop it!" Yumi shrieked and struggled to get up. "You're acting like a-"_

"_I know! A vampire! I am! I'm a vampire!" I pushed her back down gently. "But stay down! You're wounds need a little bit more time to heal!"_

_The blood was stopping. I could already see the wounds starting to heal. I knew it was only a matter of seconds now. Then she would be good as new._

_But I also knew she saw my fangs at that short moment that she tried to get back up. She knew without a doubt that I was vampire. She knew the cruel, terrible secret that I hid from everyone except Hotaru._

"_Vampire… A vampire! A demon! A monster that feeds off of human blood! How could you?! How could you deceive me all these years, Mikan-chan?! How dare you?! I trusted you! I thought you were my friend!" Yumi pointed at me accusingly and stared at me with hurt, betrayed eyes._

"_I'm sorry, Yumi-chan. I'm so sorry that I hid this from you… You can just forget about me." I held back the pain that was born in my heart._

_I held my hand out and reached towards Yumi's eyes._

"_Don't touch me with your dirty hands, you… you disgusting beast!" Yumi jerked away._

_I paid no heed to her struggle. I continued to cover her eyes with my hand. A bright light came out of my hand._

"_N-No! W-what are you doing! Stop it! Stop it now!" Yumi tried to pull away._

_Suddenly, she went limp. I caught her before she hit the ground and checked her memories quickly. Every memory that was related to me was erased. There was no longer a Sakura Mikan to her... Or a demon that betrayed her._

"_You'll be better this way. Better without that disgust and hatred of knowing the terrible truth." I whispered as I allowed a single tear to trickle down my cheek._

"_Mikan-chan, you must run away. You can no longer stay here. Not with Yumi-chan here too. She would not only remember you but she would attract too much attention. The vampire knights will come and take you to where you're believed to belong in: hell with your father, the Vampire King. They'll try to train you and force you into becoming a true vampire princess." Yuka said._

'_What?! Vampire king?!' I gasped._

"_The very top ranking in royalty in hell. Making you the princess. But the official ceremony is when you turn ten and they would match you up with a vampire of high ranking in royalty when you turn fifteen. Until then, you're supposed to train to be a princess as your father wished. But I wanted you to go grow up like a normal human girl. Your father was completely against it. I didn't want you to grow up in such a cold, cruel place so I decided that I would take you to the mortal world and raise you there. Even when you two were so young, you and Hotaru-chan were inseparable. Her mother wanted Hotaru-chan to grow up with you so I accepted her request to bring Hotaru-chan as well." Yuka explained. "Even though she knew you two would be separated at some point anyways."_

'_Wait! I have to leave without Hotaru?! No! I can't do it!' I refused. "I _won't_ do it! I won't leave her behind!"_

"_You have to. You're going to have to be on the run from the vampire knights. Since your tenth birthday is in a couple days, they will search for you with even more urgency. And since you just triggered off the vampire activity sensors, it's only a matter of time till they find you here. I can't come with you either." Yuka said. "I have to protect the village from the vampire knights! Everyone is in danger!"_

'_What does that have to do with Hotaru not coming?!' I demanded._

"_You're bound to meet the vampire knights face-to-face several times and they will go through anything and anyone to get to you. Including Hotaru-chan. At your ability, you wouldn't be able to protect her. I hate to say it but Hotaru-chan would only drag you down." Yuka said sympathetically._

_I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to compose myself and think about the possible outcomes if I brought Hotaru. She was right. No matter how many scenarios I thought through, they all ended with one of us hurt or killed. I opened my eyes._

'_I understand. I'll go alone.' I thought._

"_Don't worry. I'll stay in contact with you like this and fate will reunite you with Hotaru-chan eventually. But before you can meet her again, you must be able to protect her in case the vampire knights find you again when you're with her. Get stronger – mentally and physically – and collect more alices. Then you will be ready to see her again." Yuka said. "Now go. I'll tell Hotaru-chan to come pick up Yumi-chan."_

'_Where can I go?' I asked. 'And how can I get there?'_

"_Start in Nagasaki. Find as many alices as you can there. There seem to be a lot there. To help you with finding alices, I'll give you the alice of Alice Tracking." I felt the new power inside of me. "Once you think you've attained enough alices, go to Tokyo. There is an academy there for alices. It's called Gakuen Alice. You can go there to finish your alice collection. The headmaster, Kazuma, will take special care of you."_

'_And to get there?' I asked._

"_Just snap your fingers and will your vampire wings to appear. They will appear on your back." Yuka said. "You also have angel wings but if a vampire knight finds you as part angel, chaos will be brought to hell, heaven, and the mortal world. It was forbidden for a vampire and an angel to fall in love and even so, your father and I ignored that unbreakable rule."_

_I snapped my fingers. Just like she said, large, reddish-purple bat wings appeared on my back._

"_They might take a little getting used to but you can do it. You'll learn fast." Yuka said._

_I tried flapping the wings a bit. I felt like I got pushed to the ground. I got up again._

"_The angle of how you flap them is important too." Yuka added. "It might be easier to jumping off of somewhere that's off the ground."_

"_Tell me that earlier…" I muttered._

_I climbed up a tree and tried again. This time, I adjusted the angle so that I would go forward and up. I flapped hard and after a couple tries, I started flying. I could only fly clumsily but it was enough for me to get from place to place._

_I flew up higher just as Hotaru came. She spotted me immediately._

"_Mikan! What are you doing?!" Hotaru demanded._

"_I'm sorry, Hotaru. I broke our promise." I pointed to Yumi._

"_Y-you… How could you! How could you break our promise?! You swore to never do such a thing!" Hotaru screamed angrily. "And you're going to run away from me now?!"_

"_I'm sorry… I have to go. I can't explain right now." I said._

"_No need to. I can tell exactly what happened!" Hotaru said. "You finally gave in to your curiosity as a vampire! And who's easier to get to then your closest mortal friend that trusted you whole-heartedly?!"_

"_Hotaru…" I said weakly._

"_No! Just go! I don't want to see your face ever again! I don't care what happens to you anymore! You can die for all I care! I hate you! You're despicable! How dare you?!" Hotaru screamed with an aura of pure rage, hatred, and betrayal –very similar to Yumi's reaction to her discovery._

"_I'm sorry." I whispered then flew away as fast as I could._

_I took one quick glance back and I saw that she was still glaring at me with the cruelest expression ever. I never imagined that she could have such a terrible look._

"_I'll explain everything to her. Don't worry, Mikan-chan." Yuka said comfortingly._

"_No. I'll explain it to her when I see her again. For now, I'll just have to leave her as is." I said out loud. "But she has every right to hate me. I broke our treasured promise. Even if it was for Yumi-chan's sake, it's unforgivable."_

"_Mikan-chan…" Yuka said quietly._

"_As of now, I will start all over. I will put every effort into becoming stronger. And no matter what, I _will_ see Hotaru again and I _will_ protect her. When that time comes, I'll explain every single thing to her." I said with a new determination._

**End of Flashback**

"And that's what happened…" I concluded just as the timer went off.

"I see…" Hotaru turned off the timer.

"And you still won't forgive me, huh?" I looked down.

"Hmm… Well, now that I know what happened, I'll think about it." Hotaru said.

I looked at her with a surprised and hopeful expression.

"Don't look at me like that. And don't get your hopes up like I know you are right now. I said I'll think about it. That's no guarantee for you." Hotaru said coldly.

"Hai!" I grinned, knowing that I had a chance now; even though it was a small chance.

"Now, you will allow me to leave to my business without any complaints or means to stop me, correct?" Hotaru started walking for the door.

"I've said what I wanted to." I deactivated my Telekinesis alice on it.

"You… You did the right thing for Yumi. Even if you don't give her her memories back, you should befriend her again. Maybe it'll do her some good. After all, she needs all the help she can get. She's in the same academy too." Hotaru said then closed the door behind her.

'Yumi-chan is in this school?! Why didn't I see her? She would be in my class since she's the same age as Hotaru and I!' I thought.

I searched through the school's student list in my mind. Finally, I found her. Just as I thought, she was in my class.

'I guess she just had a cold then.' I thought. 'I guess I should check on her.'

I flew to her room and peeked through her window. No one was there. I tried to imagine what other reasons there were for her not to be there.

'Oh! I know! She probably wanted to go to a quiet place to read! She's always been a bit of a bookworm!' I thought. 'And then she lost track of time and forgot all about class!'

I used my Tracking alice to find out where she was. I found her to be in a small clearing deep in the Northern Woods. I gasped at what I saw.

The Yumi that I knew had long, black hair that reached the middle of her back and always had cute animal accessories on. The Yumi I knew hated all music except the cute, happy songs that would drive most people insane. And most of all, the Yumi I knew hated make-up and dark, punk clothing in every possible away.

The Yumi that I saw here broke every single thing that I knew her by. Her now purple hair was cut and styled into a messy pixie cut with blue highlights. Even without the help of the Super Hearing alice, I could hear the gothic metal music playing loudly through her headphones. And the one thing that stood out the most was _what_ she wore. Sure, she was wearing her uniform… Or at least you could see that it _was_ her uniform if you looked closely.

Everything was dyed black. The top's sleeves were ripped off and the collar was completely gone. A tie with a skull and crossbones design replaced it. She wore fishnet stockings and fishnet gloves that went down her entire arm. Her boots had been replaced with thigh-length four-inch high platform boots.

Her make-up was extreme. She wore black lipstick and lip liner. She also wore dark eye liner, lots of mascara, and dark blue eye shadow that came up to her eyebrows – which were only drawn in now. Tons of foundation was used, making her skin even paler than it already was.

**(A/N: Forgive me for the terrible description and for what I'm trying to pull her off for. I'm pretty much just mixing and matching any dark/goth clothes/styles I can find online. Trust me; I'm NOT a pro when it comes to fashion. And I'm even worse with make-up. I don't even **_**wear**_** make-up which, by the way, makes me one of the very VERY few people in my school that don't wear ANY make-up at all!)**

'Yumi-chan… What happened to you…?' I gaped in extreme surprise.

An innocent bunny hopped to her cheerfully.

'This will definitely show that she's the same Yumi-chan that I've always known…' I watched eagerly. "Bunnies are her favorite!"

"Go away, you pest. What an ugly creature. They should all just die." Yumi kicked the bunny away.

'No… This can't be Yumi-chan! The Yumi-chan I knew was the complete opposite of this!' I felt the tears coming for the first time in five years.

I flew to Hotaru's lab and as soon as I got there, I didn't bother to knock. I just threw the door open and walked in.

"What happened to Yumi-chan?!" I demanded.

"I knew it." I heard Hotaru mutter without looking at me.

"Tell me, Hotaru. I _have_ to know!" I said urgently.

"Fine. I'll tell you what happened." Hotaru turned around and looked at me with cold eyes. "As soon as you left, Yumi's life fell apart. You know those bullies that always teased her? Well, they came back. And this time, you couldn't protect her from them. She fell farther and farther into depression and as if that wasn't enough, she developed an extreme hatred to animals. And what could I do? Nothing. I could only watch hopelessly. After dealing with three years of bullying, we were discovered by this academy. We were stolen away and that was the final touch. Yumi totally lost it. She turned into what you see today."

"All this is because of… me?" I gasped.

"Bingo! She didn't have her little protecting ball of sunshine anymore and she couldn't even remember it." Hotaru said in a cruel sarcasm.

"What have I done?! Hotaru, please, help me save Yumi-chan!" I begged.

"I can't do anything for her. It's up to you now. All I can say is try getting close to her again. If that works as a success, then you can start bringing her back to class and she's get better and better. She won't and can't be the same as before but it's better than now." Hotaru said.

"Hotaru…" I looked at her hopefully.

"And don't get your hopes up for this either. I'm sure you already know this but this time, it'll be much harder. Before, she was searching for someone to depend on. Now, she's grown so independent that she's completely anti-social. If you can't succeed in bringing her into the light, then you'll be crushed. " Hotaru warned me. "Now get out of here. I'm busy and you've interrupted my plans for the second time today."

"Thank you, Hotaru… So much… I know you don't consider me as your best friend – or even your friend – anymore, but to me, you've always been and always will be my best friend." I grinned. "And don't worry! I won't give up on Yumi-chan no matter what!"

I hurried back out of Hotaru's lab and I could've sworn I heard her whisper a small word that I used to be all too familiar with: 'baka'.

I walked out of the building that held Hotaru's lab, putting my hair back up in case someone saw me. Sure enough, I saw Yuu running to me.

"Sakura-san! Thank goodness that I finally found you!" Yuu panted.

"What is it, Iinchou?" I asked innocently.

"I'm sure you've already heard this but Shouda-san is plotting something terrible against you! It's best to avoid saying or doing anything that might offend her or the fan club. She can be terrifying when angered!" He warned.

"Thanks! I think I'll be okay though! I've always been good with bullies! If anyone messes with me or my friends, I'll make sure they think twice next time!" I giggled.

"But I'm still worried…" He twiddled his thumbs nervously.

"You really are a nice person, huh, Iinchou? But try not to be so worried! I'll definitely be okay! You know what? If it makes you feel better, I'll pinky promise on it!" I held out my right pinky.

"E-eh? To go t-that far… I-it's okay…" Yuu blushed.

"No! I have to make sure that you don't worry about me!" I insisted.

"O-okay…" Yuu hooked his pinky around mine.

I giggled cutely again and Yuu's face turned even redder.

"Okie dokie! So don't worry anymore, okay?" I said.

"O-okay…" Yuu nodded.

"I gotta get going! One of the teachers wanted to see me!" I said.

"Okay. B-bye…" Yuu waved as I skipped away.

As soon as I was sure nobody was around to see me I took my ribbons out of my hair. I snapped my fingers and my wings appeared on my back. I leaped into the air and started flying. I flew to the Northern Woods and once I found the person I was looking for, I landed next to him.

"Hello, sensei." I greeted him politely.

"Sakura Mikan, correct?" He replied.

"The vampire, at your service." I bowed. "And Persona, right?"

"Correct." Persona nodded. "Now that we have introductions done, I have a couple questions that I would like to ask you if you wouldn't mind."

"Ask away." I leaned against a tree and made myself comfortable.

"What alices have you collected?" Persona asked.

"Just about any and every alice you can imagine. And then my Nullification and SEC alice." I said simply. "And would you mind if I copied your alice? I haven't obtained the Mark of Death alice yet and that would make a very nice addition."

"Go ahead. But only copying. No stealing, of course." Persona stepped forward.

"Just hold your hand out and stay still please. It makes it much easier for me." I said.

Persona did as I said. He held his hand out, palm up. I held my hand out as well, palm down. I let it hover a couple inches over his hand.

All my practice and experience from other alice copying allowed me to use hardly any effort. I barely had to concentrate because it was so easy and natural for me now.

I just a few brief seconds, I had made an alice stone out of his alice that floated between our hands. It was the size of a golf ball – very big for an alice stone – and had a deep black color that reminded me of a dark void. I allowed it to float to my hand. It slowly melted into my hand and I closed my hand around it. I already felt the new power and I knew it was a powerful, deadly one.

"Thank you very much. I hope I never have to come to the point where I would have to use this on anything or anyone. But it's a useful and nice addition to my collection." I said. "Other questions?"

"What abilities do you have as a vampire?" Persona asked.

"As a vampire, I can fly – as you saw me do a minute ago – and obviously, I can drink blood. And just to add to that fact, I can eat human food completely fine but I prefer to drink blood. It's much more appetizing and nutritious for me. And it keeps my energy up. Anyways, I have all the abilities that normal humans have but boosted to extreme levels. Like running 150 mph is as easy and simple as walking from one end of this clearing to the other end. Or uprooting a full grown oak tree. All of those tasks that are impossible for animals and even animals are easy for me. And biting someone doesn't hurt them unless it's on an open wound obviously. That's pretty much all I can do as a _normal_ vampire. But…" I smirked.

"You're _not_ a normal vampire." Persona nodded. "So what abilities do you have as a _special_ vampire?"

"Well, I can heal someone's injuries by biting them and drinking their blood. I can also track anything that has blood. Let's see… What else? Oh. Right. I can boost my victim's special abilities greatly. Like if they were a fast runner, they would be a faster runner. Or it can boost their alice if they had one. And my venom mixes with their blood stream and makes the blood cells replace any and all blood that leaves the body. That way I have an endless blood supply. And that's about it. By the way, all of the 'extra' effects that my venom gives to my prey are only temporary. How long it lasts depends on how much venom is injected." I explained. "What else would you like to ask?"

"How good are your abilities as a person? Like physically and mentally." Persona asked.

"I'm very good in gymnastics so my flexibility is great. I have learned and mastered karate, kendo, judo, kung fu, and several other types of martial arts. My skills in archery and using a gun of any kind excel as well. And for mentally, let's just say that my intelligence levels can leave the world's greatest scientists and mathematicians wondering for the rest of their lives." I said. "Not trying to brag or anything…"

"Seems like you can be considered the ultimate weapon to the AAO…" Persona said.

"Seems so, doesn't it? But they don't stand a chance. I haven't trained for five years for nothing! Besides, let's just say that I have something bigger than the AAO to worry about." I said confidently. "And I have no weaknesses that they can use against me."

"That is all I needed to ask for now. Now to move on to the real reason you're here." Persona cleared his throat. "Well, as I heard, your partner is Hyuuga Natsume, correct?"

"Correct." I nodded.

"And you know that in order for the sake of all alices and to get rid of the AAO, we need you to work with us, right?" Persona said.

"Yes. And I'm completely willing. After all, the headmaster is giving me a safe place to stay; the least I can do for him is protect his students and defeat the enemy." I said.

"And we thank you for that. And we would like to repay you for that with your partner, Hyuuga Natsume, as your mission partner. He's powerful and he may be useful to you. As you said, blood keeps your energy and I have heard from the headmaster that you enjoyed his." Persona said.

"Thank you very much. With such a precious offering, I can't refuse. I'm sure I'd be able to teach him a couple tricks as well." I bowed thankfully.

"And I'd assume you would like to keep your identity a secret, correct?" Persona asked.

"Yes. I would like to keep my identity as confidential as possible." I nodded.

"Very well. Your mission name can be Crimson Butterfly. The headmaster came up with the name. He enjoys inventing names like these." Persona said.

"I like it. Crimson is a color that defines me well. And butterflies are also like me: free and always doing as wished; never chained down by others." I chuckled.

"You may also have another name that you can use instead of your real name. Just to be safe. That would be the name listed in all reports and listings for your missions, just in case the AAO somehow got a hold of it." Persona said. "The headmaster said that you may choose that yourself if you'd like."

"Hmm… Out of all the aliases that I've used, I think I've liked the name Tsukimi Yuuki the most." I said.

"Tsukimi Yuuki… That's a very good name. The headmaster would probably pick a name like that." Persona said.

"Thank you. It was the name of a grandmother's granddaughter's friend's name that I overheard once." I said.

"The headmaster has also prepared an outfit for you for when you go on missions. It will keep what class you are in as a secret. It's also very easy to move around in." Persona pulled out a crimson, butterfly-shaped half mask from his pocket. "Just put this mask on and the rest of your outfit will appear on you instantly. Please try it out."

I put on the mask and I felt my clothes change into the other outfit. I smiled in approval as I twirled in front of the mirror Persona held out.

**(A/N: You can see the outfit on my profile. Sorry but it really sucks; especially since I drew it a LOOONG time ago and I've improved a lot since then. But at least you can **_**see**_** what the outfit looks like.)**

"I like it." I said for the second time.

"I'm sure the headmaster will be happy to know that." Persona said. "Would you like to introduce yourself to your new mission partner?"

"Sure." I nodded. "If it's not too much trouble."

"Natsume." Persona called into a small microphone. "Come here and meet your new mission partner."

We waited for a few minutes. Finally, he walked out of the shadows of the surrounding trees.

"Hello, Mr. Kitty." I smirked. "We're going to have lots of fun together."

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Author's Note: There! Finally done! I was about 2/3 done when I got writer's block and bombed with a ton of work. I **_**FINALLY**_** managed to get it done but releases are probably going to be slow. But this story **_**will **_**be completed! Eventually… But I swear it will! Oh ya! And putting up 'Cardcaptor no Omoide wo Sagashite'? Forget it… I can hardly write this now… So sorry 'bout that… Busy busy, you know? That's all for now! Bye Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

**--The Life of a Vampire—**

**Summary: ****She's bubbly. She's klutzy. She's caring. She's sweet. She's different. She's a vampire. She's Mikan Sakura! NxM!**

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN GAKUEN ALICE OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!!! THEY BELONG TO THE VERY AWESOME HIGUCHI TACHIBANA-SAMA!!!**

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Author's Note: Sorry about the late updates and everything… Busy busy, you know? I'll **_**try**_** to update as fast as I can… And another thing I wanted to say. Up until now, I've put all of the names as surname, given name but now on, I'm gonna do it given name, surname. Anyways, on to chapter three!**

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Last Chapter**

_I put on the mask and I felt my clothes change into the other outfit. I smiled in approval as I twirled in front of the mirror Persona held out._

"_I like it." I said for the second time._

"_I'm sure the headmaster will be happy to know that." Persona said. "Would you like to introduce yourself to your new mission partner?"_

"_Sure." I nodded. "If it's not too much trouble."_

"_Natsume." Persona called into a small microphone. "Come here and meet your new mission partner."_

_We waited for a few minutes. Finally, he walked out of the shadows of the surrounding trees._

"_Hello, Mr. Kitty." I smirked. "We're going to have lots of fun together."_

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Chapter 3**

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

"Who are you? Besides my mission partner." Natsume demanded.

"How rude!" I pretended to be upset. "Why don't you introduce yourself first? Even though I already know who you are."

"Natsume Hyuuga, Fire alice." Natsume muttered. "Now answer my question!"

"If you _must_ know… My name is Yuuki Tsukimi and I have the SEC alice." I bowed dramatically.

"SEC alice?" Natsume said.

"Steal, Erase, Copy." I stated simply. "Quite a powerful and useful alice."

"She's a very precious student to this academy and to the headmaster so treat her with the utmost care." Persona warned Natsume. "If I hear any complaints, you _will_ be punished severely."

"Tch. Whatever." Natsume scowled.

"Now, the headmaster and I hate to do this to you on your first day here but we have an important mission for you two." Persona said. "I would only send Natsume but the headmaster said that it's a good chance for you to bond since you just met."

"Understood. What's the mission?" I asked even though I knew what it was from reading his mind.

"We have just been informed by a spy that the AAO has moved the location of their headquarters again so we need you two to follow them to find it as they escort one of their leaders." Persona explained. "Do not go into combat unless extremely necessary but no matter what, do _not_ kill their leader. We need you to keep your identity and presence as confidential as possible, Tsukimi-san."

"Yes, sir." I nodded in understanding. "And by the way, it's just Yuuki. Leave out the formalities."

"But Tsukimi-san-" Persona started to protest.

"That's an order from me." I made a stern expression then smiled warmly.

"Yes, Tsu-" Persona started but stopped when I gave him a warning look. "Yuuki-san."

"Much better." I smiled in approval. "Now, back to the mission. Where is their starting point? I only need a vague direction."

"It's an underground base five miles south of Tokyo." Persona said.

I used my GPS alice to find it. It only took moments.

**(A/N: Haha. I know. GPS alice? I can't think of anything else to call it.)**

"Okay. Found it. We won't have any troubles finding it." I said. "When are they leaving?"

"They're planning to leave sometime between eleven PM to one AM. So you have to get there at ten PM." Persona said.

"Which means we have to leave here by nine-thirty tonight." I nodded then turned to Natsume. "You up for this? I'll teach some really good and useful tricks that you can use with your alice because I'm so generous."

"Thanks." Natsume rolled his eyes sarcastically. "I really owe you one."

"If you have no more questions, you may be dismissed." Persona said.

"Okay." I bowed politely to Persona. "Come on, Kitty-chan. Let's walk and talk."

"It's Hyuuga. Don't call me _Kitty-chan_." Natsume said with annoyance as he started to walk with me into the woods.

"Okay, _Hyuuga_. _Hyuu! Hyuu!_ Let's go. _Hyuu! Hyuu!_" I said knowing it would annoy him to no ends.

**(A/N: Those who know Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles will recognize the 'Hyuu! Hyuu!')**

"Fine. Then just Natsume." I watched his nerves pop out on his forehead with amusement.

"Yes, sir, Just Natsume!" I saluted to him sarcastically.

"You… Ugh. Whatever." Natsume finally admitted defeat.

"By the way, you wouldn't mind being my portable anytime-meal, would you?" I smirked as I saw confusion flick through his face, then shocking realization.

"You! You're who bit me this morning! Who… No… _What_ are you?!" Natsume demanded.

"Come on, kitty-chan! You had to watch or read at least _one_ movie or book about my kind! I'll give you a hint. Twilight? You have to know that one!" I received no response other than a hard glare. "Okay… Another hint then! Let's see… Dracula? Though it _really_ needs to get some of its facts straight, I think it speaks for itself. Come on! Say it! What am I?" I cupped my hand to my ear.

"A…" Natsume said slowly.

"Yes?" I said patiently, like a kindergarten teacher waiting for a child to answer the question of what the color of the sky is.

"A vampire…" Natsume said with disbelief coating his voice and expression. "But how is that possible? Vampires don't exist… They're only mythical creatures…"

"Or so the unbelievable kitten thought until now." I narrated with a shrug. "Seriously. You're still young; believe like a real kid!"

"How old are you?" Natsume asked getting a bit carried away the new discovery.

"How rude! No politeness there, is there? Was there no one there to teach you manners?" I shook my head disapprovingly. "Well, I might as well answer your question. I'm the same age as you. I age the same as a mortal until I hit 25. Then I age _much_ slower. Who likes looking old?"

"Why aren't there any vampire sighting reports? There's bound to be hundreds of reports." Natsume asked.

"That would be because vampires aren't exactly supposed to stay up here too long. They're up on mortal land for a couple minutes to eat then go back to hell. Not enough time for someone to catch a glimpse of us and get evidence. Besides, we move extremely fast; much too fast for someone to _accidentally_ see us." I explained. "But there actually _are_ sighting reports on us. A couple spread out within the past few centuries. Or else there wouldn't be any knowledge to base the idea for Dracula off of. But there are some things that are just so stupid that it's almost infuriating."

"Like what?" Natsume said.

"Well, one main one is garlic. How stupid is that? _What_ would be afraid of _garlic_? Sure we don't like garlic breath but does anyone? Geez…" I shook my head. "And there's that sleeping in coffins thing. We sleep on normal beds like normal mortals. And the only ways to kill a vampire are with holy water or with a stake. That stake thing is almost as stupid as the garlic-phobia thing! Absolutely idiotic. And holy water is extremely hard to find anyways. You can only get it from angels and even if you get it somehow, it's only as effective as a repellent as a stink bomb: unpleasant but still easy to get past. Only other vampires/demons/devils or angels can kill each other. They're just about invincible to anything else."

"Is that why you're so valuable to the academy? Because you're invincible and unbelievably powerful?" Natsume said.

"Don't forget that I can have the headmaster and everyone in this academy begging for their life in seconds if I wanted. Not that I have any reason or will to… at the moment…" I added.

"Right…" I noticed Natsume edging away despite his efforts to make it unnoticeable.

"Now, enough about me! Tell me something about you!" I pretended not to notice.

"That… That has nothing to do with you." Natsume said rudely then walked in the opposite direction.

"What an uncute brat." I sighed.

I walked deeper into the woods until I found a small clearing. I unconsciously started to do complex somersaults while dancing to imaginary music.

'It can't take longer than a few months till the vampire knights find my location. Being that I can be anywhere in the world and I'm tracking-proof, it'll be hard to find me. But I'm also at the top of the most wanted list. No doubt they will figure out that I'm here once they realize it's the only safe place for me.' I chuckled at the thought. 'A safe place? Who am I kidding? There _is_ no safe place for me. I'm in danger no matter where I go. There's always the risk of the vampire knights finding me. I can only run from them… Or I could fight. But I would be impossibly outnumbered to vampire knights that don't have a particular weakness. How troublesome.'

"Amazing, Mikan-san! What _can't_ you do?" I heard a voice from behind me.

"Oh, Kazuma-san. I was dancing again, wasn't I?" I turned around casually. "And I am still lacking in very much." I giggled.

"Quiet beautifully, I must say. I have never seen such grace in dance before! And I have judged several dance contests." Kazuma clapped.

"Thank you very much." I curtsied. "I tend to dance unconsciously whenever I'm in deep thought. It has become a habit now. You can call it my unique way of meditating."

"Unique indeed." Kazuma nodded. "By the way, do you like the outfit? I designed it myself, as I'm sure Persona had said."

"Yes. It's beautiful yet easy to move in. I have taken quite a liking to it!" I smiled. "I like the name as well! Crimson Butterfly… Crimson representing blood; also known as the color that commonly represents vampires. Butterfly representing the elegant beauty and freedom of a graceful figure flying in the sky, never chained down. A wonderful choice!"

"Exactly! That is exactly what I was thinking when I was creating the name! I had also considered a rose instead of a butterfly." Kazuma nodded excitedly. "But I thought that it was too common."

"Because a rose is beautiful and seemingly delicate, but if you try to get too close, you will get pricked by the thorns. A symbol of dangerous beauty with an illusion of innocent fragility." I agreed. "Also a very good symbol that's suiting for us vampires. But you're right; too obvious and common."

"Finally someone who understands the depth of such things! It seems that there is no one who can relate to the true meaning and beauty of even the simple things!" Kazuma clasped his hands around mine energetically. "Oh. I'm sorry. I got a bit too excited." Kazuma took a step back apologetically.

"It's fine. I understand how you feel. By the way, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing out so deep in these woods?" I asked as I removed my mask so that the outfit also dissolved away and be replaced with my previous outfit.

"Oh. I almost forgot! I just came to give you a letter that I had received a couple years ago." Kazuma held out the letter. "I was told to give it to you once you arrived and received your first mission. It has been kept in a high security safe and is exactly as it was when I received it."

I took the envelope. It was white and had a sakura design on the corner of the back.

It was sealed with a sticker that had a set of wings. One wing was an angel wing and the other was a vampire wing: the symbol that my mother had designed for me. It was a secret emblem that only we knew of. Not even Hotaru knew of it.

I inhaled into the envelope and immediately recognized the familiar scent. It was of the perfume that my mother always wore: strawberry with a hint of vanilla; a perfume that she had made herself. It was a fragrance that was strong enough to notice immediately but not overpowering. It was gentle and sweet but not overly so. It had a sense of calm, like herbal tea. It was unique, special, and only my mother's.

"I'll leave you to read your letter in privacy." Kazuma bowed politely then left.

"Thank you." I called after him.

Once I was sure he was gone, I sat on a large boulder. I stared at the letter for a long moment then turned it over to the seal. I stroked the sticker gently. Finally, I slid my finger carefully under the sticker to break the seal, making sure not to rip anything. I pulled the letter out of the envelope slowly and unfolded it.

The paper was the kind of paper that my mother used when she wrote special letters. A pink that was the color of sakura petals. The lines were actually tiny sakura petals.

_My beloved daughter Mikan,_

_By the time you receive this, I expect that you would have grown very much. And I know that you have collected tons of alices by now. Don't stop there! Keep collecting more and more! At this academy, I know you can just about complete your collection! This place is a museum of alices. Leave no alice uncopied! I want you to be so powerful that you can protect yourself in my place!_

_Oh, Mikan… How much I wish that I could have gone with you. But I would only drag you down. And this is a journey for you alone. I know you won't get caught by the vampire knights. You're too powerful. You haven't even realized your full potential. Your power without those alices that you have collected. Your power that lies within your blood. Your half-angel, half-vampire is only half of your true power. The rest of your power lies within you. I can not tell you where that power lies though. You must discover that for yourself when the time comes. I hate to say it but that time _will_ come and it will be a time that will be heavy on your heart. But that is the key… And all I can say about it._

_Please, Mikan, don't live fully as a vampire, an angel, or a princess. Live as a mortal. Live with the emotions, the feelings of a true human. Don't be buried under the hatred of your vampire side. Don't be caught under the overly pureness of your angel side. You must live with balance between them both. That is how a mortal truly is: a balanced mix between evil and purity. And that is how you must be. Whenever you are lost, look to that mix that makes up humans. It is what will save you at your time of need. And the emotion that is the most important to humans is not happiness or sadness. It is both: love. Love is a powerful emotion; an emotion so powerful that even the most powerful warriors have overlooked it. You need it, Mikan. Find someone to truly love. I know you will find that person. Just trust your mortal feelings. They will not betray you._

_But enough of that. You must be bored and completely uninterested in such a subject. Just trust me, you will find it to be the most helpful advice you can have. Now, you must be curious about Yumi-chan and Hotaru-chan. I'm sure they have been taken to that academy by now. This is important, Mikan. They're emotional state is critical. They will not show much but they are really dying inside. In fact, they are in so much pain that they have actually caged their feelings completely. They are no more than dolls. They don't feel any happiness, any sadness, any anger, anything! They have locked those feelings away deep into the darkness of their hearts where only a special light can reach. That light is you, Mikan. Their only true light. They need you. If they begin with being angry or sad, that is wonderful! That means you have begun to unlock the locks that caged their hearts! Keep trying! I know you will unlock all of their feelings. They won't return back to normal, but they will no longer be empty puppets! Don't give up, Mikan!_

_And you must be wondering why I haven't contacted you for so long. I know you don't want to hear this. And I'm sure you've be avoiding this conclusion as much as possible, but it is true. I knew it was coming and coming soon. I am gone from this world. I have finally been caught by the vampire knights._

I froze in shock. My mother is captured? By the vampire knights? Impossible! Absolutely impossible! I will not believe it! I refuse to! Don't tell such a terrible joke, mother! It isn't the least bit funny! You are lying! I know it! Please, mother, tell me it is a lie!

But the truth sunk in deeper and deeper. And the more it did, the more I knew it was true. My mother would not joke about such a thing. She always scolded me if I told a cruel joke. She is not lying. She is an angel; it is almost impossible for her to lie, even after she was tainted by the vampire king's evil. And I knew that they would not destroy her. They would torture her slowly and painfully; using her as entertainment for the vampire king's people.

I knew I had to keep reading. I had to finish reading the letter. She may give me instructions on how to save her! There may still be hope! There must be! I _must_ save her, no matter what!

_I know that after telling you such things, you would want to rescue me from hell. But do not try such a dangerous task. It _will_ destroy you with your current ability. You need true allies and your true power that is still hidden! Without them you will stand no chance! You would be _destroyed_, Mikan! _I_ will _not_ allow that! You must continue on! I will only be saved once you destroy the vampire knights and overthrow the vampire king! He has performed such unforgivable sins that even I, the one who loved him the most, can not forgive! To his people, he is a hero for performing so many terrible sins, but he is really a horrible person. You _must_ destroy him, Mikan! You must find someone else as the new king. Someone who is not so cruel. Someone who you know will transform his people into what they should truly be! I know you can do it, Mikan! I believe in you!_

_Your loving mother, Yuka_

_P.S. No matter what, you must not tell anyone that you are half angel. They must think that you are full vampire. It is a secret that must be kept hidden! You may only tell your loved one and your true allies when the time is right! The knowledge of you being half-angel to the enemy will put you at even more risk! I had erased the vampire king's knowledge of me being an angel for a reason! Keep it a secret! It is that knowledge that can give them a chance to reveal your weakness! A weakness that you haven't even realized yet! Be careful, my love! Don't forget that I love you bunches and bunches, sweetie!_

I set the letter down on my lap and stared blankly ahead as I tried to piece everything together.

'So the only way to save her is to gain powerful allies and to unlock my full power? Powerful allies… I can only find those by befriending many alice users. Hotaru was a friend already. I can only hope that she would become an ally of mine. I'm sure she would if it was to save my mother. My mother raised her like a daughter! And Natsume would be a very powerful ally. He will be hard to get to though… But I can tell that he is the type to be completely loyal to those that he considers friends or allies. Other members of the dangerous ability class would also be very great allies.' I thought. 'And for my full power? How exactly can I unlock that? She said that I would discover it when the time comes but when is that? I don't have time to wait! She's suffering _now_! I can't have her waiting for so long! She has already suffered way too much!'

I leaped off the boulder and into the air, releasing my wings mid-jump. I found Hotaru in her lab and flew to her.

I don't have time to just sit around! I need to get allies like mother said!

I reached Hotaru's lab in seconds. I knocked on her door three times and waited impatiently outside her door. She ignored me at first.

"Hotaru, I know you're in there. Open up." I knocked harder.

Once again, Hotaru pretended to not hear me. Urgency and impatience welled up inside me like a volcano but I suppressed it.

"Hotaru, come on. Don't make me take down this door by force." I said knowing that the door was made so tough that even I couldn't take it down.

Only silent ignorance responded. I knew that there was only one thing that she might respond to somewhat. Something that swore to never do: beg.

"Hotaru… Please… I'm begging you…" I got down on the floor and bowed down so far that my forehead my hands that were on the floor. "I need you, Hotaru…"

Finally, I received a response. Hotaru opened the door and looked down at me with emotionless eyes. Her emotions really were locked away like mother said…

"How annoying. Haven't you bothered me enough for one day?" Hotaru said, her voice as sharp as a blade.

"Hotaru… I need your help… Please…" I didn't lift my head. "Mother… She's in danger, Hotaru!"

"Yuka-san is?" I could hear the slight surprise in her voice.

"Yes. She's been... Captured…" I fought the tears that threatened to fall at the cruel word.

"Get off the ground and get in here. Quickly." Hotaru opened the door wider so I could come in.

I hurried in. Hotaru closed the door behind me. I walked to her couch and sat down. She sat down on the opposite side. I took a brief moment to calm myself again before explaining.

"She was captured by the vampire knights… Not long after Yumi and you were taken here, most likely." I started. "There's no way she could've gotten away from them… She didn't have enough power to face them all by herself…"

"Of course not. There are hundreds of vampire knights, each extremely powerful and without a particular weakness." Hotaru said so sharply that I almost winced. "There's no doubt she's being tortured by them mercilessly as we speak."

"I know…" I nodded weakly.

"And you want me to help you save her. Even though I haven't forgiven you for what you did. Even though it would be putting not only your life but my life as well at risk?" Hotaru said coldly.

"Yes. I know I have no right to ask you of this but… I need your help more than anyone else's. Your support would mean the world to me." I said.

We stared at each other in silence for what felt like forever. Her eyes cold; my eyes desperate. Finally, Hotaru broke the silence.

"Fine." Hotaru said.

"Hotaru…" I smiled in relief. "Thank you… It means so much to-"

"This doesn't mean that I've forgiven you. It's just that Yuka-san means a lot to me. She raised me like her own. It would be disrespectful to not help her at her time of need." Hotaru said before I could say more. "This isn't for you. It's for Yuka-san."

"Does this mean… I can call you an ally?" I said eagerly.

"For Yuka-san's sake, yes." Hotaru said.

"Thank you, Hotaru! Thank you so much!" Tears gushed out of my eyes.

"Don't get all teary. You'll make a mess." Hotaru tossed me a box of tissues. "Now, how did you come to find out about Yuka-san's status to begin with?"

I explained to her everything that was in the letter, leaving out the part about her and Yumi. Hotaru sat back and let the information sink in.

"I see… A full power… With how much Yuka-san spoke of it, it must be something extremely powerful…" Hotaru said thoughtfully. "She said that it will come at a time that is heavy on your heart and that is the key, huh… And then she talks about how important your mortal feelings are. So, obviously those two parts are linked. Then she stresses on how important falling in love is. So the feeling that makes your heart heavy is most likely love."

"Y-you're right, Hotaru! It makes sense!" I nodded excitedly, much like how I would have long ago. "So… I have to find my 'loved one,' right?"

"Seems so… But that doesn't mean that you could just go boy-shopping. You know that Yuka-san wants you to find someone to _truly_ love. A natural love." Hotaru said.

"I know! I know! Since when did you turn into a love expert, huh, Hotaru?" I laughed, reaching my hand out to her.

"Don't get so familiar with me. I am not your friend; only your ally." Hotaru slapped my hand away.

"Oh…" My smile disappeared. "Right… Sorry, Hotaru… I got too carried away."

"Now, don't you have somewhere to be?" Hotaru ignored my apology. "This is your first day here. You're bound to be busy for the next few days."

"Yeah… Thanks, Hotaru." I got up and started walking to the door. "For everything…"

"I'll let you know when I think of something for Yuka-san." Hotaru said as the door clicked behind me.

I walked away from Hotaru's lab and checked the time on the clock tower. I still had about six hours to burn till the mission.

I decided that this was a good chance to collect alices. I had perfected my ability of copying alices without even touching the person.

I leaped up and flew to Central Town. I put my hair up in pigtails then landed behind a building. I walked out and started walking around. I copied the alice of everyone that I passed. Though it was extremely crowded, I somehow managed to leave not a single person uncopied. When I finally decided that I had enough for the day, I left Central Town.

I found a quiet, isolated place in the sakura grove. There wasn't a person around for a while. I sat down with my back against the trunk of one sakura tree.

The tree's trunk was wide and my back was comfortable against it. Because it was still fall, the sakuras hadn't bloomed yet.

I decided to look over the alices that I copied to pass the time. I still had three hours left.

'Illusion… Cooking… Tangibility… Invisibility… Pain and Healing… Time Manipulation… Creation… Singing… Chemistry… Memory… Water… Air Manipulation… Shadow Manipulation… Doppelganger… Soul Transfer… Animal Transformation… Human Pheromone… Super Speed…' I started. 'Teleportation… Mind Reading… Wind… Ice… Face Changing… Female Pheromone… Sparkle Creation… Flying… Invention…' The list went on and on.

**One Hour Later**

I finally finished reviewing the alices that I copied. I still had two hours left though…

'I might as well categorize them as useful and useless alices now. Not like it makes much difference…' I sighed and began. 'Illusion, useful… Cooking, useless… Tangibility, useful… Invisibility, useful… Pain and Healing, useful…'

**One Hour and Thirty Minutes Later**

'Done!' I thought as I finished categorizing them all.

I checked the time on the clock tower. There was thirty minutes left.

'I guess I should get moving for the mission.' I got up.

I walked to the Northern Woods slowly. I was in no rush. I still had plenty of time to get there. I looked around with a bored gaze and tried to be interested.

"Oh. A bunny." I crouched down and reached my hand out toward it slowly and calmly, using my Animal Pheromone alice as well. "Come here, cutie… I won't hurt you."

The bunny hopped to me. It bounced into my arms and I brought it in closer. It snuggled up to me and I smiled warmly to it.

"There there…" I scratched behind its ears.

The bunny seemed to be grinning in delight. He kept looking at me with pleading eyes whenever I paused for even a moment.

"Does that feel good?" I chuckled.

I remembered the bunny that Yumi kicked away earlier.

'I need to help Yumi-chan as well… She needs me…' I thought.

I looked at the clock tower and saw that I had ten minutes left. I set down the bunny gently and waved to it before walking away, deeper into the woods. It tried to follow me but I gave it a quick look and it stopped. I walked the rest of the way to the clearing that I met Persona at. I saw Persona as soon as I stepped into the clearing. Natsume hadn't come yet.

"I'm here." I said as I walked to him.

"But Natsume is not. He knows that if he's late, he'll receive punishment…" Persona muttered the last part quietly.

I used my Tracking alice to find him. He was walking in this direction.

"Don't worry. He's coming. He should be here in about thirty seconds." I said.

"You should switch into your mission outfit before Natsume comes." Persona suggested.

"Thanks for reminding me. I almost forgot." I got rid of my hair ties and put on my mask so that the outfit appeared on me. "And here he his."

Just as I said, Natsume stepped through the clearing and to us. Persona looked at him with an unsatisfied expression.

"I'm not late so what's the look for? Because I arrived after _her_?" Natsume pointed at me.

"Mind your manners, Natsume. Yuuki-san deserves the utmost respect!" Persona scolded him.

"Tch." Natsume scowled.

"Well, shall we get going? Or is there something else you'd like to add, Persona?" I asked.

"I have nothing else to say. But the headmaster wanted to tell you to be careful." Persona bowed politely.

"Tell him I said thanks." I said with a small smile.

"Will do." Persona nodded.

"Alright. Let's go." I said to Natsume as I popped out my vampire wings. "Do you think you can keep up?"

"No problem with that. Just don't get left behind." Natsume said.

I leaped up into the air and started flying slowly. I looked down and saw Natsume jumping from tree to tree rapidly. He was keeping up very well and was actually starting to get ahead of me.

"Not bad, Natsume. Persona trained you very well." I muttered. "But can you keep up with this?" I smirked.

I sped up about fifteen mph and he noticed immediately. I heard him curse under his breath with my Super Hearing alice. I chuckled as he tried to raise his speed and only get a bit faster. I knew he would get tired quickly so I decided to give him a little boost. I flew down to meet him.

"What now?" Natsume kept moving and I flew alongside him.

"I thought I'd give you a bit of a boost since you'd tire out quickly at this rate." I shrugged.

"I'm fine. I don't need your help." Natsume waved away my offer.

"Oh really? I think you will disagree in five minutes or so." I smirked as I flew back up.

In five minutes, we were out of the academy and making our way out of Tokyo. I made us invisible with my Invisibility alice so we wouldn't look suspicious.

I could see him starting to slow down and his breaths becoming more and more difficult. I flew back down.

"I'm -pant- not -pant- tired." Natsume denied it before I could say anything.

"Just let me help you. It'll boost your physical abilities and your alice power." I insisted.

"No." Natsume said flatly.

"Well, you know what? I'm going to do it anyways? I'm starting to get hungry." I used my Telekinesis alice to lift him up and high above the trees despite his struggles.

"W-what the hell! Put me down!" Natsume struggled then realized what I said. "You're going to drink my blood?! Now?!"

"We're both gaining from this so just shut up and stop struggling." I sighed.

"Who'd let you drink their blood!" Natsume struggled more.

"Don't make me force you to stay still." I warned him.

"With what?" Natsume continued to struggle.

"This." I used my Mind Control alice to make his body stay still. "But hey, don't say I didn't warn you."

I got up really close and leaned in. I sunk my teeth into his skin on his neck. I started drinking the blood.

'His blood really is delicious!' I didn't hold back. 'The perfect temperature, perfect type, and the perfect flavor!'

After I thought I had about enough, I stopped. I leaned back and licked my lips.

"No doubt about it! The best blood I have ever drank!" I smirked as I released my grip on him with my Mind Control alice.

"Y-you!" Natsume tried to attack me but I dodged it swiftly.

"Don't waste your energy, Natsume." I said with a serious expression. "You may need it."

"Tch." Natsume glared at me as I used my Telekinesis alice to put him back down.

I started flying again, but much faster this time. Natsume no longer had any trouble keeping up once he realized that he could move faster. I had no doubt that we would make it there much before the expected time. I told Natsume telepathically to go into the big building that was coming up to the right. He went in and I followed him.

"Why are we in here?" Natsume asked.

"We have plenty of time to spare and I think this is a good chance to teach you some tips and tricks that you could use with your alice." I explained as I set my feet on the ground and made my wings disappear. "Some are a bit difficult but I'm sure you could master them with a bit of practice."

"I don't need it. I'm fine with what I already know." Natsume refused rudely.

"So you could easily hit someone that you can't see or someone in a large crowd." I said. "Because those are two of the most basic and important skills that you would need."

"Hmph." Natsume looked away.

"Exactly. Now, let's get started, shall we?" I started stretching. "And good luck. You'll need it with how tough my 'training' is."

"Great." Natsume sighed.

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Author's Note: Yay! FINALLY finished that! Sorry it took me so long. Okay. Next chapter for sure I'm going to update faster than this one because the last day of school is coming up in two days so I'll have much more free time and NO homework! So look forward to it! I won't be updating like a chapter a week probably since I still have a lot to do but it definitely won't be like a chapter a month/every other month like it is now. Anyways… Ya… That's about it. I might as well say what's going on in the next chapter though. Pretty much, Mikan teaches some tricks/tips to Natsume for his alice and then they begin their mission. From there, some 'stuff' happens and… Yup! Now you have to wait till chapter four comes out to find out what the 'stuff' is! And… That's it! Bye bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

**--The Life of a Vampire—**

**Summary: ****She's bubbly. She's klutzy. She's caring. She's sweet. She's different. She's a vampire. She's Mikan Sakura! NxM!**

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN GAKUEN ALICE OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!!! THEY BELONG TO THE VERY AWESOME HIGUCHI TACHIBANA-SAMA!!!**

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Author's Note: Ahhh!!! I was reading over chapter one and I just realized that I hadn't put in a part where Mikan got her uniform! Sorry! Just pretend that she did, okay? And Natsume's been kinda OOC hasn't he? Hmm… I'll try to get him back in character but it'll be hard cuz this character is easier to fit in with the story line right now… Oh well. I don't have much else to say so… Chapter four – START!**

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Last Chapter**

"_We have plenty of time to spare and I think this is a good chance to teach you some tips and tricks that you could use with your alice." I explained as I set my feet on the ground and made my wings disappear. "Some are a bit difficult but I'm sure you could master them with a bit of practice."_

"_I don't need it. I'm fine with what I already know." Natsume refused rudely._

"_So you could easily hit someone that you can't see or someone in a large crowd." I said. "Because those are two of the most basic and important skills that you would need."_

"_Hmph." Natsume looked away._

"_Exactly. Now, let's get started, shall we?" I started stretching. "And good luck. You'll need it with how tough my 'training' is."_

"_Great." Natsume sighed._

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Chapter 4**

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

"Now, use your alice to attack me!" I said as I hid behind a crate. "Focus on making a small, concentrated fireball _exactly_ where I am!"

A large, blazing fireball appeared about two feet to my left. I nullified it then poked my head out from the side of the crate.

"Not even close! And it's neither small _nor_ concentrated!" I sighed impatiently. "Okay then. Make the fireball right here."

He made a small fire that was just barely blazing.

"When I say concentrated, I mean _really_ concentrated. Like this." I made a golf ball sized orb of fire that was perfectly round. Not even a single flame escaped the sphere. It disappeared at my command. "Now try making one exactly like that."

"Ugh. What a pain." Natsume grumbled but obeyed.

A long, oval-shaped orb of fire appeared. Though the flames only circled together, the shape was still off.

"Close enough. Practice by yourself in your own time. Practice makes perfect!" I nodded in satisfaction. "Now try making a fireball exactly where I am behind the crate. Don't bother with making the concentrated fire orb for now. And don't worry about hurting me."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Natsume said sarcastically.

I moved back behind the crate. The fireball appeared a foot away.

"Focus and feel through the air with your senses. Picture the exact location in which it would appear. Persona should've trained you to do that much a long time ago." I ordered.

I felt the fireball coming to where my arm was. I moved my arm away just as the fireball appeared.

"Good. Usually it's better to go for a more threatening place but that was pretty good for your third time. You're a fast learner." I nodded as I stepped around the crate. "This is a very useful trick when you can't see your enemy but you can tell where they are; especially when you're in a different room. Obviously, it becomes more difficult the farther away they are but it's doable with enough practice."

I checked the time with my watch. We still had plenty of time.

"Next is to hit one specific person in a large crowd." I said. "First, you have to be able to find the person quickly. Everyone has a different aura, as you might call it. It's easier if you have already been in their presence so that you know their aura. It is very important to memorize the aura of everyone that you meet."

"That's impossible! A person can only memorize so many auras! Besides, they get forgotten quickly when you find a new one." Natsume protested.

"For a normal mortal, I suppose that would be quite difficult…" I tapped my chin in thought.

"Impossible." Natsume corrected under his breath.

"Then I have no choice but to give you the alice of Memory." I decided with a nod.

"You can give people alices too?" Natsume asked with hint of surprise.

"Something like that. I can give them the alice stone that I collected, but unlike normal alice stones, the alice doesn't fade away with use. It's like it becomes your own alice. The alice shape of the alice automatically becomes Limitless but without the life shortening part, though it still requires energy. Compatibility between the person and the alice stone is also a condition though." I explained. "But I can tell that you have a very high compatibility rate. Or at least with the ones that would be useful to you. Useless ones like the Sparkle Creation alice would have a very low compatibility rate with you. But ones like the Air Manipulation alice would have a very high compatibility rate with you."

I searched through my 'alice stone collection' to find the Memory alice. I found it almost immediately. It emerged from my hand.

The stone was a sky blue color. It was about the size of a ping-pong ball which is much larger than average.

I reached my hands out towards Natsume. I rested one hand on his chest, right above his heart, and pressed the alice stone lightly to his forehead.

"Inserting the alice stone in different places affects the effectiveness of it. If I inserted a mentally-based alice in your leg, it would be hardly effective; especially since it is far from the place that it would focus on the most. Generally, an alice stone would go in the heart because that is the central and main part of the body." I explained as the alice stone sank into his forehead with a subtle ripple. "Since this alice is mentally-based, it goes to your head. But for more effectiveness, it's better to share the location to the heart as well as the main focus. It takes more effort and strength to input the alice stone in both locations but it's worth it. Because you know what?" I smiled sweetly and tilted my head slightly. "With how powerful it could be, it just may save your life someday."

He turned his face away to hide the light pink coloring that crept up to his cheeks. I couldn't help but giggle at the cuteness of it.

"Oh. That's right. I forgot to mention something. As I'm sure you've already noticed, alices have different power levels. Like when two people have the same exact alice but one person's alice is stronger than the other. When I copy or steal the alice, I can't push the alice's power level to the full level. I can only look for someone else with the same but more powerful alice." I said. "And your Fire alice is by far, the most powerful out of all the Fire alices that I've collected, no, seen! I can tell you haven't reached your full potential but it's already extremely powerful."

"So you want to copy it." Natsume stated bluntly.

"Of course! It has become a hobby of mine to collect alices with the strongest power level possible and yours will easily be one of the highest leveled alices!" I said excitedly as I reached out my hand. "So, if you wouldn't mind…"

"Of course I mind!" Natsume slapped my hand away rudely.

"Come on! It's the least you can do for me since I gave the alice of Memory!" I insisted.

"Since when was the alice of Memory of equal value to my alice?" Natsume raised an eyebrow mockingly.

I knew what he wanted: more alices. Whatever. I have plenty to spare and I was going to give him more anyways.

"Fine. What about if I trade in the alice of…" I thought about it for a brief moment. "Flying? That's an extremely useful one!"

"Two more good ones. My alice is worth much more than that." Natsume protested.

"So stubborn!" I chuckled. "But I can't help but agree with you on that. What about the Telekinesis alice and Shapeshifting alice then? Those are both very useful. And it's not like you're going to lose your alice or anything."

"Close enough." Natsume nodded reluctantly.

I reached out with my palms facing up. I copied his alice and his alice stone appeared in my hand.

His alice stone was bright red and almost half the size of my palm. It looked like a giant, round ruby.

"What a pretty alice stone… Such a beautiful color…" I held it up and examined it, rolling it around between my fingers. "Thank you very much. It won't be put to waste."

"And now you give me my share." Natsume said.

"Yes yes. I know." I sighed. "It's not like I forgot or anything. I'll keep my side of the deal. No hit-and-runs."

"Enough with the stalling. Hurry up and get on with it." Natsume said impatiently.

I nodded and held my hand out. A blue-green alice stone came out of my palm. I held the alice stone to one of his legs with one hand and put one hand over his heart with my other hand.

"This alice stone contains the Flying alice. It's placed mainly in your legs because this is a physically-based alice that is more or less focuses on your legs." I said as the alice stone sunk in through his shirt over his heart.

I pulled my hand back a bit and laid it out palm up. A pale green alice stone came out of my palm. I held the alice stone to his forehead with one hand and placed my other hand over his heart. The alice stone dissolved in with a light ripple.

"That was the Telekinesis alice." I said explained. "This alice goes to your mind because it is mostly mentally-based. Though it is often used with the user's hands, it is still a power that works from the mind."

Another alice stone came out of my palm. It was a mix of several colors. It was a blend of red, blue, green, yellow, and all the colors in between. It looked very much like a swirling storm of colors in an enlarged marble. I held the alice stone to his heart with both hands.

"And that was the Shapeshifting alice." I said as it sank in slowly. "It really should go everywhere but that's a bit difficult to do with only two hands."

I checked the time with my watch. We had fifteen minutes left and we were ten minutes away from the destination.

"We should get going now." I snapped my fingers and my wings popped out. "Why don't you try out your new Flying alice?"

"I was going to anyways." Natsume floated up into the air.

I shot out the door. Natsume followed me flying.

"Pretty good for a beginner." I nodded in approval.

"Hmph. It's easy." He shrugged.

"Then let's see how fast you can go." I flew faster in a quick burst of speed.

Natsume also sped up. He was going at least 150 mph now. I had to admit, I was somewhat impressed. For someone who just got the alice not even five minutes ago, he was flying like someone who had the alice their whole life. Even I had trouble mastering how to fly. Well, that was with wings so I guess that's a bit different.

'I can only call him a complete natural.' I thought as I looked back at him. 'I guess we didn't really have to leave early. We could just take our time. But I guess coming early isn't so bad either… Just boring…'

Even after taking a bit of a detour we arrived at the destination in half the time it would've taken us if we went at the same rate that we were going at before. Any normal person would've been shocked and speechless. But since we definitely weren't normal people, we weren't surprised in the least; more like satisfied.

"I found fifteen security cameras. Did you get the same number?" Natsume asked while scanning the surroundings.

"Close." I looked around slowly, erasing our presence from each one. "You missed eight. But those were all almost impossible to find, especially from here. Three disguised as bugs in the bush five meters, southeast from here. Two disguised as pebbles next to the largest, closest boulder to us. The last three are floating in the air invisible."

"There. I erased our presence from every single camera here. Now even if we walk right in front of the security cameras, we're invisible. And they can't hear us. It's like we're not even here." I said.

I got down on one knee and pressed my hands flat against the ground. I closed my eyes and sent waves down into the ground with my Sonar alice.

"What are you doing?" Natsume asked.

"I'm using my Sonar alice to check the layout of the underground base. To find out how many exits there are, where they are, and to get a rough idea of how many people there are." I responded without moving.

"And?" Natsume said, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Stop tapping. It's throwing me off. Just stay as still as you can. It's bad enough that there are animals underground that are getting in the way and confusing me." I said even though I didn't really have a problem with it.

"Tch." Natsume stopped but was definitely annoyed to be ordered around. "Just hurry up already."

"I got it. Jeez. So impatient. You try probing through the ground like this. Even with the Sonar alice, it's not as easy as you think. Besides, the place is big. It takes me a bit to search through everything." I took a deep breath and checked through the underground building a couple times, making sure that I got everything. "Let's see… A total of six exits… Wait, no. There are seven. Four of those are hidden exits. The remaining three are just normal exits." I probed through the underground. "There are approximately 40 people down there. Probably about 30 of those people are guards. The other ten are most likely the real high-ranked ones in this."

"Only 30 guards? Why so few? Would most of them have gone ahead to the new base…?" Natsume thought out loud.

"I'd guess that only 20 or so would have gone ahead and checked the route to get there but they wouldn't be the ones that would work here. Since this is the top headquarters, only the high-ranking members can work here, let alone enter here. I'm sure even the guards are high in ranking and have powerful alices." I explained.

"Jeez… I just wanna wipe out them all in one quick sweep…" Natsume sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "All I'd have to do is blow them all up and then we won't have any more problems."

"And it's tempting when the top guys are all together like this but this is our orders. We can't attack them. They can't even know that we're following them." I shrugged. "Besides, even if we get rid of them, it's not like everyone in the AAO is here. Just the important people."

"And if it's really these guys that have brought them this far, if we take them down, everyone else would be completely lost. They would crash and burn." Natsume said.

"No. It would be stupid to put every important person together like this. What I predict is that the ten that are here are probably only second in rank. There's probably only one person who's the real top rank. But that person is probably hiding off somewhere else where no one would find him/her… Or at least not easily found." I said. "If we attack now, that's just announcing a full out war."

"So pretty much, squeeze out all the juice and throw away the leftovers for now, right? If we wait and observe, we might figure out where the head guy is hiding eventually." Natsume nodded. "The plan makes sense and is simple but there are disadvantages to it too. While _we're_ standing by, _they're_ doing whatever they're trying to do and it's not saving anyone."

"I know… And I hate that part, but we can't get our way all the time." I said.

"You _really_ don't get what that means, do you? There are alices, _kids_, being captured, used, and sold to an alice slave trade and you just wave it away like you're telling some kid that the world doesn't surround him!" Natsume raised his voice in anger. "They are _fighting_ for their lives the split second they get captured! They're not getting pampered there! It's not a resort where they can choose to do whatever they want! They have to squeeze out every single bit of power and energy they have and more just to get past a single day! You don't even understand a bit of how hard-"

"Oh? Is that what you think? That I don't know how hard it is to cling to the little bit of life that's left? Well, you're wrong. I _know_ that it's so excruciatingly painful to live that they just want to give up but they _can't_." I felt my voice tremble slightly. 'I know a _hundred_ times more than they could! It's not like the AAO is the only bad guy in this world! If it was, then I would've destroyed it already! But there are much more terrible and dangerous things out there! _You_ are the one that doesn't completely understand how hard it is in the most possibly painful situation that there could ever be!"

'Dammit! I'm losing it! I can't lose it here and now! I have to keep calm… But he just _had_ to hit me in a sensitive subject, didn't he? The one thing that affects me more than anything…' I tried to compose myself mentally and barely succeeded.

"You…" I could tell Natsume was ready to go all out on a questioning attack.

"Here they come. They're getting ready to leave from this exit." I said before he could continue, grateful to have something to change the subject.

I leaped high up into the air and hovered there, making us invisible in the progress. Natsume flew up just as the ground shook and split open. The first of the guards came out and scanned the surroundings carefully. Once he was satisfied, he turned back around and nodded. A circle of guards, all armed both with alices and alice-proof guns, came out surrounding their leaders. They started walking together to the east without breaking the formation. Natsume and I followed them from the air, making sure to stay at least 15 feet above them.

"Reo." Natsume growled, his voice layered with hatred. "Of course _he'd_ be here."

'So you know him.' I told him telepathically. 'Pathetic excuse of a human. He climbs up in society by using his natural voice talent and alice to become a popular singer so that he could brainwash just about everyone in Japan as soon as he gets the permission from the head guy. And if he keeps climbing at this rate, he might just be able to brainwash all of Asia… Or worst case scenario, the world.'

'At least we have something in common.' Natsume thought so I would be able to pick it up with my Mind Reading alice. 'So, who else is in there? Do you recognize them?'

'Let's see…' I activated my Identity alice. 'Starting from the top left and going in a 'S' direction, Kei Kuroki, Kohaku Tanemura, Hideki Kuran, Reo Mouri, Hitomi Inoue, Hajime Suzumura, Ryuu Fukuyama, Takeshi Matsumoto, and Arashi Kawashima.'

**(A/N: All of them (except Reo) are OC's and they belong to me (even though I made them all up on the spot). All of them except Hitomi Inoue are guys if you couldn't tell.)**

'In the same order, their alices are: Wind, Dream Manipulation, Healing, Voice Pheromone, Mind Control, Explosion, Ghost Manipulation, Curse, and Storm. Not exactly the weakest alices, are they?' I said telepathically. 'And all of the guards' alices are offense, except for four: Mind Reading, Future Sight, Super Sight, which includes seeing through objects, and-'

'Alice Barrier, Shido.' Natsume interrupted. 'Reo's right-hand man.'

'Sounds like you've had your fair share dealing with Reo and his team.' I said.

'I've gone up against them a couple times.' Natsume sighed silently. 'They almost caught me more than once. Not exactly the best thing to do when you aren't prepared. Or actually, even when you _are_ prepared.'

'At least it was just an 'almost'. You're only in trouble when you're actually caught.' I replied.

We were silent for a while. We only followed the AAO members silently from the air and didn't lower our altitude even the least. We could both sense Shido's barrier and if we entered it, he could and would sense us which would completely blow our cover. Finally, the group stopped in an area that was just plain as everywhere else. Hitomi stepped out of the group and the guards stepped aside to let her out.

'The highest ranking out of them?' I thought.

We watched as Hitomi walked to a boulder the size of a soccer ball. She lifted it and shook it lightly. With my Super Sight alice, I could see a small tube with buttons popped out of the side of the boulder. She pushed the buttons slowly, obviously because it was checking her fingerprints in the process. She pushed the tube back into the boulder then set it back down in the same place. A door suddenly appeared in front of them.

'A portal, huh? Pretty clever. And there's no way some person would 'accidentally' discover the portal entrance. Especially with how complex the procedure it is to activate it.' I told Natsume telepathically.

'Did you catch what the code sequence was? I could only see that her fingerprints were being checked.' Natsume asked. 'It's too far for me to see clearly from this distance.'

'If you label them from the top to the bottom with letters then the fingers starting with the pinky with numbers, it was: C-2, A-4, D-1, E-5, B-3, then F-4.' I replied. 'Remember that code sequence, the exact way she picked it up, the exact way she placed it back down, which boulder it was, and how and how many times she shook it. It is important to remember everything, even the things that seem the most insignificant, to the very last, precise detail. You should be able to remember it like it was replaying in your mind. Put that Memory alice to use. And did you memorize their auras yet?'

'Just did.' Natsume said.

'You should have done that the exact second you saw them. They could've disappeared immediately by teleportation and you wouldn't have memorized their auras yet. That's common, vital knowledge.' I said.

The AAO members went through the portal one by one. Only nine out of the fifteen guards went in with them. The other six stayed behind. The portal disappeared.

'So these guards are high in ranking but not quite enough to get through. Or they have more orders.' I thought to myself.

'This should be enough to satisfy Persona and the Headmaster for now.' Natsume said. 'I don't think they made another precaution to get to another place to get to the real headquarters.'

'I don't think so either. It takes too much effort and time just to get this far. They wouldn't do anymore than this except probably going through a maze of indestructible hallways to get to the real entrance then checking each person thoroughly.' I said. 'Let's head back. I'll just teleport us back. It'll save us the trip.'

I checked to make sure that nothing was tracking us then teleported us back to the Northern Woods. Persona was there waiting for us in the same place as he was last time.

"Well?" Persona asked.

"Here. This will explain everything." I reached out my hand and touched his forehead lightly. "Close your eyes."

Persona obeyed. I closed my eyes as well. I showed him the trip from the old headquarters to the new headquarters in full detail, zooming into the most important things. When I was done, I opened my eyes and returned my hand back to my side.

"I see… Very good. Is there anything else?" Persona asked as he opened his eyes.

"I just gave Natsume a few useful alices: Memory, Flying, Telekinesis, and Shapeshifting. And I taught him a few useful tricks with his alice." I stated simply. "We had plenty of extra time so I figured that we might as well use it productively. But he'll need to practice them quite a bit. He's still far from perfect."

"Thank you for going out of your way for such a thing. The Headmaster and I appreciate it very much. And I'm sure Natsume does as well." Persona bowed politely. "Is that all?"

"That is all." I confirmed.

"Then you are dismissed." Persona walked away in the opposite direction.

Natsume and I walked out of the Northern Woods silently. I noticed that he still kept a cautious distance between us as we walked.

"I just remembered something extremely obvious. As a vampire, shouldn't you be unable to walk in the daylight?" Natsume broke the silence. "But you were out during the day earlier…"

"I'm a special vampire. Though I'm weaker in the daylight compared to during the night, it's not like I'll burst up in flames and turn into ashes." I shrugged.

"Then do normal vampires do that when they go out in sunlight?" Natsume asked, obviously getting more and more interested even though he tried to hide it.

"No, though they do get very bad burns and it affects all of their senses and abilities." I easily hid a smirk that tugged at my lips in amusement. "But that's why you never see a vampire in broad daylight. Oh. But days when the sun is covered like when it rains or snows are fine for them."

"And I know it's none of my business and this doesn't really have anything to do with that, but I can't help but ask… What class are you in?" Natsume asked. "You said you're the same age as me but you're not in my class, or at least I doubt you are. Your features don't really match anyone in there."

"Like you said, it's none of your business. I don't have to answer you." I said. "Now, it's late so I think it's about time we get some rest. You wouldn't want to be late for class tomorrow, would you? And before you ask, yes, vampires sleep at night just like normal humans." I added with a smile.

Suddenly I thought of something fun and interesting to do to him. I smiled mischievously at the idea.

'Why don't I tease him a bit?' I thought. 'I doubt he's gotten teased for a while. Especially with his terrible reputation.'

**(A/N: Okay. Before I go into the next part, I just wanna clear up a few things. One: I don't think I ever said anything about Natsume wearing his mask in the last chapter but he was and hasn't taken it off yet. Two: I know his mask can only be taken off by the person that put it on (Persona or Kazuma) but in this story, let's just pretend that little detail doesn't exist. Three: Beware of EXTREME OOC-ness coming out of Natsume and Mikan coming up next. I know I already threw Natsume way off character already but I think I might be able to make this work in a certain way…)**

I took a step towards Natsume and reached forward slowly. He took a step back instinctively. I didn't stop. I pulled his mask off of his face and leaned in. I could see that even though he had a composed expression on the outside, he was actually panicking inside as he realized that he couldn't run from me. My face covered by my mask was reflected in his ruby eyes that revealed everything to me.

"How rude to stare at me like that! Why don't you close your eyes for me…" I said using a bit of the Voice Pheromone alice and Human Pheromone alice to persuade him a bit.

Natsume seemed to be fighting with himself in his mind. One side wanting to obey me; one side resisted. It was actually pretty amusing and I had to fight laughing. Finally, his resisting side gave in and he closed his eyes, though he was obviously hesitating. I let him stay like that for a second then kissed his cheek.

"You're a thousand years too early before you can get anymore than this." I whispered in his ear with a sweet giggle.

Natsume's eyes shot open and his face flushed. I smirked in satisfaction then leaped into flight. I didn't have to look back to know that he had a hand on his cheek and was frozen in place, still trying to fully process what just happened.

'I shouldn't be messing around like this… I have to save Mother and Yumi-chan… They're suffering and I'm just messing around like this…' I thought seriously, but then another thought struck me. 'Wait… If he falls head over heels in love with me, then he would easily be on my side fully! Then I would have a strong 'ally' that I could use. Why didn't I think of that earlier! How stupid of me! But he can't find out about my other identity… Not yet, at least. Maybe later when the time is right…'

I took off my mask and my costume dissolved with it, leaving me in my uniform. I put my hair back up in pigtails while I flew to the dorms just in case someone saw me. I landed to the side of the building and walked to the entrance. As I expected, nobody was awake, but I still took the precaution of going to my one star room instead of my special star room.

'Let's see… D-12 so it would be on the right.' I looked at the golden plates that were on each door. 'D-8… D-10… D-12… Here we are.'

I unlocked my door and entered, looking around in the process. I closed the door behind me and locked it. I walked around the room, taking note of every detail then imprinting it into my memory with my Memory alice.

The room was very plain, small, and empty. It only held the basic necessities, and even those were at low quality. The walls were a beige color and the floor was wooden. The only furniture in the room was a small bed, a small wooden desk and matching chair, a red couch big enough to carry four people if they squeezed together, a cheap, wooden coffee table, a wooden dresser no wider than a microwave and only as tall as a stepping stool, and a closet big enough to hold about twenty outfits plus the uniform if they were crammed together.

'I'll have to go shopping for some cutesy furniture and decorations to match my character that I created, but not yet. I'll have to get small decorations a little at a time since I'm supposed to get such a small allowance.' I thought to myself.

I checked around to see if anyone was watching from outside or with a camera and that nothing was tracking me. There wasn't anyone or anything watching or tracking me so I teleported myself to my special star room.

"Wow. Pretty good room…" I said while walking around. "It's amazing how much of a difference there is between this room and the one star rooms. It must be even more so between this room and the no star rooms… And with how the one star room was, the no star rooms must be barely inhabitable…"

The walls and floor were the same as my one star room except being higher quality but those were the only things that were the same. You could fit my single star room in this room five times and _still_ have plenty of space left over. There was a kitchen that was fully equipped with a refrigerator, an electric stove, a double oven, a microwave, a granite sink, and all the equipment needed for cooking, baking, or anything that you'd want to do in a kitchen. The room also included a _huge_ walk-in closet that you could probably park a decent-sized car in. The furniture included three soft couches that you could just sink in just by resting your hand on it, a glass coffee table with almost impossible detailed carvings on the base, a large, fingerprint and shatter-proof glass desk, a king-sized bed with adjustable softness/hardness levels, and a small table next to the bed. There was a wireless phone on the table that was next to the bed.

"Hmm? What's this?" There was a small note on the phone. "A note from who I wonder… It must be Kazuma-san… No one else would… Or can, at least…"

_Dear Mikan-san,_

_I had this phone specially placed in your room so you are free to use it for anything that you would like and at anytime. This phone also calls outside the academy and internationally. Of course it doesn't charge you anything._

_You may call me at _anytime_ if you need me or just need to speak to me. Just pick up the phone and hang up three times then dial 2 and it will automatically call for me. To call Persona, do the same but dial 3. If you would prefer to have a cell phone instead or both a cell phone and this phone, please call me and let me know. I will provide you with one immediately. Do not hesitate to call either Persona or me! Do not worry about disturbing us! It is an honor to serve you, even for the smallest things._

_And if you get guests in here for any reason, I request for you to hide this phone in some way. It is a rule that phones are prohibited to students in this academy so we would not like for other students to discover that only one student is provided with one because it may cause unwanted trouble. I'm sure you understand._

_Please meet me before school tomorrow so I can give you some of our school's currency: rabbits. I will make sure to give you more than plenty so do not worry about that! _

_-The Headmaster, Kazuma_

_P.S. Please destroy this note and all traces of it as soon as you finish reading it. This is just a safety precaution so that nobody else would discover it. Thank you very much, Mikan-san._

I burned the note and disposed of the ashes.

"I guess it's about time to go to bed." I yawned and stretched sleepily. "It's been a long day and there's still so much to do tomorrow as well…"

I walked to my bed slowly, almost dragging my feet as I walked. I changed my clothes into a black nightgown with my Transformation alice.

'Tomorrow I'll have to go search for more strong allies.' I thought as I laid myself on the bed and adjusted the softness/hardness level to my liking. 'Just wait for me a bit longer, Mother, Yumi-chan. I'll save you soon. You won't be in suffering for much longer…'

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Author's Note: Ahhh! I took forever on this chapter! I'm so sorry mina-san! Main reason: I've been so addicted to reading manga and watching anime (-man to be exact. I'm completely addicted to it! I've finished the series (I started on around episode 30 because that's where I left off) in three days!) to work on this! At this rate, I'll finish this fanfic in a year… Or two years… Who knows? Definitely not me… But just be patient with me and this story, okay? But I really appreciate the reviews that I've been getting! Everyone is so kind even though I'm taking so long on updating! And even though it's summer vacation right now and I should've been updating faster, I haven't… I'm so sorry! A pretty big reason is because I've not only been having a bit of writer's block, but I've also been lacking material. My personal rule that I've set for myself is that I **_**must**_** have twelve pages typed out for each and every page (which is actually harder than you think… Especially with how small I have the font set to…) so I've been trying to add as many details as possible so that it would take up more space. Even now, I'm writing all this unnecessary crap just to take up more space! It's stupid but I like setting up rules for myself, even when I do absolute nonsense just to get to it! And it works for you guys because then you get longer chapters (though it takes even **_**longer **_**to update…)! Now, I shall end this dreaded chapter with the final words… See you next chapter! Bye bye!**


	5. Chapter 5

—**The Life of a Vampire—**

**Summary: ****She's bubbly. She's klutzy. She's caring. She's sweet. She's different. She's a vampire. She's Mikan Sakura! NxM!**

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN GAKUEN ALICE OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS! THEY BELONG TO THE VERY AWESOME HIGUCHI TACHIBANA-SAMA!**

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Author's Note: I'm so sorry about the late update! I've been so busy with school and everything so I haven't been able to write! Just be patient and support me, okay? I read every single review and they all make me so happy! Thanks, mina-san! By the way, when I describe Yukihara in here, that's not what he really looks like in the manga. It's just that this image fits the story better… So… Moving on to the long awaited chapter… Chapter five – START!**

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Last Chapter**

_Dear Mikan-san,_

_I had this phone specially placed in your room so you are free to use it for anything that you would like and at anytime. This phone also calls outside the academy and internationally. Of course, it doesn't charge you anything._

_You may call me at anytime if you need me or just need to speak to me. Just pick up the phone and hang up three times then dial 2 and it will automatically call for me. To call Persona, do the same but dial 3. If you would prefer to have a cell phone instead or both a cell phone and this phone, please call me and let me know. I will provide you with one immediately. Do not hesitate to call either Persona or me! Do not worry about disturbing us! It is an honor to serve you, even for the smallest things._

_And if you get guests in here for any reason, I request for you to hide this phone in some way. It is a rule that phones are prohibited to students in this academy so we would not like for other students to discover that only one student is provided with one because it may cause unwanted trouble. I'm sure you understand._

_Please meet me before school tomorrow so I can give you some of our school's currency: rabbits. I will make sure to give you more than plenty so do not worry about that! _

_-The Headmaster, Kazuma_

_P.S. Please destroy this note and all traces of it as soon as you finish reading it. This is just a safety precaution so that nobody else would discover it. Thank you very much, Mikan-san._

_I burned the note and disposed of the ashes._

"_I guess it's about time to go to bed." I yawned and stretched sleepily. "It's been a long day and there's still so much to do tomorrow as well…"_

_I walked to my bed slowly, almost dragging my feet as I walked. I changed my clothes into a black nightgown with my Transformation alice._

'_Tomorrow I'll have to go search for more strong allies.' I thought as I laid myself on the bed and adjusted the softness/hardness level to my liking. 'Just wait for me a bit longer, Mother, Yumi-chan. I'll save you soon. You won't be in suffering for much longer…'_

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Chapter 5**

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Mikan's Dream**

_I walked on and on for what seemed to be miles in a pitch black place. The air was absolutely still and freezing and I was walking on black water. I looked around, searching for _anything_ that was different here, but no matter where I looked, there was only a never-ending darkness._

"_Where am I? When did I get here?" I whispered and got a very bad feeling from the water under me._

_I got down on my hands and knees and looked deep into the water. I saw something moving and I strained my eyes to get a better look. Suddenly, the figure came up towards me. I jumped back just as it shot out of the water. After getting a clear look, I saw that it was a man. I instantly recognized him from my distant memories as Izumi Yukihara, the Vampire King and my father._

_He was tall with a strong build, looked like a model, and held the aura of a selfish, arrogant king. Though he was my father, I shared no physical traits with him. He had messy raven hair that came to just above his shoulders. His eyes were dark red and reflected the evil in his cruel, black heart. His vampire wings looked just like mine but were crimson like blood and had spikes at the ends – the features that marked a vampire that had drank so much of a human's blood that it killed the human._

"_You!" I quickly got into an offensive stance, getting ready to attack._

"_So you recognize me, my dear Mikan?" Izumi said without a single drop of love or kindness in his voice._

"_How could I forget the man that's destroyed our life up until now?" I spat. "My mother and I have gone through hell because of you and your cursed vampire knights!"_

"_Mikan, Mikan, Mikan. All I'm trying to do is to get you to come back and take your rightful place by my side on the throne. It's your own fault for being so difficult." He sighed and shook his head. "And Yuka was keeping you from it! Yuka should've just-"_

"_Don't you dare speak of her name with that disgusting voice of yours! You don't deserve even that much!" I yelled angrily. "And what have you done with her?"_

"_Ah, yes. Thank you for reminding me, though I would've also liked to extend our _touching _reunion." He smirked and observed my stance. "You can relax. I'm not here to take you with me. This is only a dream, and the most I can do is talk to you like this. I can't even find where your location is with this. And vice versa, this is as much as you can do to me."_

_I hesitated for a long moment without breaking our eye contact, then came out of my fighting stance slowly though I still stayed cautious._

"_Is it true that you have captured her?" I demanded. "And are torturing her cruelly?"_

"_Yes, I have captured her. Whether the words '_torture_' and '_cruelly_' is up to you." He indicated to a screen that suddenly appeared in the darkness._

_On the screen was a fire surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of demons and vampires. In the fire was a figure that was chained to the ground with high-voltage electric cords. I gasped as I realized who it was._

"_Mother!" I reached out to her._

_She was in a terrible state. Her beautiful long hair we loved and played with was roughly cut all the way up to her neck. She was naked and completely covered with burns and scars. Her eyes that normally sparkled with liveliness and happiness were dull and dead though she screamed continuously in pain. The surrounding demons and vampires laughed at her and cheered._

"_How dare you!" I blasted fire at Izumi in rage. "Release her this instant!"_

"_You see, I can't do that. Not only would that take away my people's greatest entertainment, but then I'd have nothing to make you come back with. It's a simple deal: you accept your role, Yuka is released and never bothered with again. But don't worry, I won't make you choose now. You can give me your answer by the end of this month. If you don't agree by then, I think you know what will happen. My people are starting to bore of her… Just keep in mind when you choose-" He reached into the screen and grabbed her by her hair then pulled her through the screen. "-of how she's being treated." I froze in horror and rage as he licked her cheek._

"_Stop it!" I screamed and tried to save her but Izumi made a barrier between us._

"_Don't worry. She's already used to being treated like this by the others too." Izumi smirked knowing that I knew what he meant. "Back there was the day 'treatment'. This is the night 'treatment'."_

"_No! Stop it! Release her!" I pounded against the barrier helplessly._

"_We'll be waiting for your answer." He laughed cruelly and wrapped his arms around Yuka's scarred body._

**End of Dream**

I shot awake and almost fell out of the bed. I forgot the dream for a split second then remembered and fury swept over me.

"I _will_ destroy you. And Mother _will_ be free again." I said with a blazing determination.

I got up and snapped my fingers. All of my morning preparations that would take most people at least ten minutes were done in just a single second. I was in my uniform, my hair was combed, and I looked and smelled like I just showered.

'That's right… I'm supposed to go meet Kazuma-san.' I thought as I looked at my clock. '6:00. I still have an hour till class starts. I'll go meet him in 30 minutes. So for now I can go find breakfast.'

I teleported to the roof of the dorms. As I expected, it was empty. I snapped my fingers and my wings popped out. I leaped high into the air and hovered there.

'Now… Where's my yummy breakfast…' I searched the dorms first. 'Not there. Well, it's not like I expected that he was the kind to sleep in.'

I searched the rest of the grounds and found him sleeping on the same sakura tree that he was on yesterday. I put on my mask just in case he woke up and saw me, then I flew straight to him. Just as I was about to sink my fangs into his neck, I felt something grab my wing. Luckily, I could hover without flapping or else I would've fallen right then.

"Did you think I would let you do the same thing twice?" Natsume's eyes opened.

"I was wishing you would but I know better than that. But it would've been worth the try!" I giggled. "So now that the sneak attack didn't work, can you let me drink with permission?"

"No." He said flatly.

"Please! It doesn't hurt! And it actually gives _you_ benefits!" I pleaded.

"No." He repeated.

"I'll tell Persona!" I tried blackmail. "And he's not going to be very happy!"

"…" Natsume was silent for a long moment then finally gave in. "Fine."

"Yay!" I leaned in to drink but he stopped me again.

"Before you get the wrong idea, I'm not letting you because of Persona. I'm letting you because I need your good side if I'm getting more alices out of you." Natsume said.

"I suppose this is the best way to do that…" I nodded. "But you'll have to let me drink anytime. Then I'll give you one useful alice at every mission."

"Deal." Natsume agreed.

"Nice doing business with you." I sank my fangs into his neck and noticed immediately that he unconsciously tensed up. "Relax. It makes it easier and faster for me."

He took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes. I saw his neck muscles relax so I tried drinking again. This time it was much easier. After I drank my fill, I leaned back.

"Delicious." I licked my lips.

"That's disturbing." Natsume muttered.

I checked the time. It was only 6:15.

"I still have time. How does some special training sound?" I suggested. "I'm sure you haven't had a real good hand-to-hand sparring challenge for a while. Actually, I haven't either… My skills might be a bit rusty…"

"Whatever. I have time to burn." He jumped down from the tree.

We flew to the Northern Woods. Once we got to a large clearing we landed on opposing sides of it.

"Rules?" I asked.

"No alices. No using anything from your surroundings. So you can't throw something at the other person. It's strictly hand-to-hand combat." Natsume said. "And in your case, no using any of your vampire powers."

"Anything else?" I agreed.

"That's all." Natsume shifted into a fighting stance.

"Okay!" I did the same. "Start!"

Natsume launched himself forward. I prepared myself and planted my feet firmly into the ground. He threw his fist towards me at breakneck speed. I ducked and kicked his legs but he jumped back before I hit him. I did a front flip to behind him then kicked him hard in the middle of his back. He flew forward but caught himself soon after. We continued this for another thirty minutes without stopping for even a second. Though Natsume was the one receiving the most hits, I still got hit a couple times.

"As much I'd like to continue this, class starts in fifteen minutes." I jumped back.

"And it would only take five minutes tops from here. We can go then." Natsume wiped away some sweat from his forehead with the back of his sleeve.

"No. I'm supposed to go meet the Headmaster before class so I have to get going now." I shook my head.

"Tch. Fine." Natsume shrugged.

"See ya later." I snapped my fingers and my wings popped out. I turned around and leaped up.

"Hey." Natsume said and I looked back down at him. "Let me know the next time you wanna fight again. I haven't had a good fight for a while. I'll keep my schedule open."

"I will." I said and I could have sworn I saw him smile just a bit.

I flew off to Kazuma's room. I arrived quickly and walked through the building to his office. The guards moved aside quickly and I acknowledged them with a nod. I knocked on the doors.

"Mikan Sakura, requesting permission to enter." I said.

"Enter." Kazuma called from inside.

The guards opened the doors for me and I walked in. The doors closed behind me.

"Please sit. This won't take too long." Kazuma indicated to the chair.

I sat down and waited for him to begin.

"Before you begin, would you like something to drink?" Kazuma asked politely.

"No, thank you. I already drank my fill on the way. Natsume really is the finest meal here." I smirked.

"A sneak attack? He's not really the type to sacrifice anything of his for someone who isn't particularly special to him. No offense, of course. Just stating the fact." He said curiously.

"No. I made a deal with him. In exchange for his blood at anytime, he'll not only get his bonuses from my venom, but I'll also give him one alice stone per mission. It's quite overpriced, but this is Natsume Hyuuga's blood we're talking about." I explained. "Anyways, back to what I was here for…?"

"Oh, right. Well, as I mentioned in the note, I wanted to give you some of our currency: rabbits. One rabbit equals 100 yen or one US dollar." Kazumi took out a one rabbit coin and showed it to me. "How much each student receives for their allowance depends on their star ranking. No stars get 5 rabbits, single stars get 30 rabbits, double stars get 50 stars, triple stars get 100 rabbits, and special stars get 300 rabbits. Since you are a special star, you get 300 rabbits every month, but since you're _extra_ special, you will receive 500 rabbits per month. Also, I want you to pretend that you only get 30 rabbits because everyone thinks you're a single star."

"I understand." I said as Kazuma handed me a card with a bunny image on it.

"We recently changed our system so that instead of having to carry around the rabbits themselves, students can store it in our very own bank account and use this card like a credit card to get access to it. Of course, students have the option to withdraw rabbits if they want to carry some around. All stores and vendors accept the card, which we have decided to call the alice card." He explained. "Since you're taking the place of two star rankings, you also have two bank accounts. Your number code for your special star account is 52647. Your number code for your single star account is 21385. You can access both accounts with the same card. By the way, don't worry about losing your alice card; it can be cancelled and renewed right away."

"Okay." I nodded, memorizing the number codes.

"Also, I don't think I mentioned this yesterday, but you're ability class known to everyone will be the Special Ability class, also known as the SA class, while you'll really be in the Dangerous Ability class." Kazuma added. "Ability classes are joined classes among the elementary, middle, and high school branches where the students get sorted by what type of alice they have. Latent Type being alices related to ESP abilities, Technical Type being alices related to creating things, Somatic Type being alices related to their own body, Special Ability being alices that don't fit into those categories, and Dangerous Ability being, as it states in its name, dangerous alices. Dangerous Ability students are much rarer and can't join in events with other ability classes. But since you're in the Special Ability class as well, you can join in the events."

"Is that all? Class will be starting soon and I don't want to be late." I said politely and pocketed my card.

"Yes. Thank you for your time, Mikan-san." Kazuma smiled at me.

"And thank you, Kazuma-san, for taking time out of your busy day to explain things to me." I stood up and bowed.

I walked to the doors and the guards outside opened them for me. I muttered a thanks to the guards before starting my walk to my classroom.

'Time to start looking for my allies. I guess I should start with my class. I have to keep an eye out for useful classmates.' I thought as I put my hair up in pigtails. 'So far, there's Hotaru who would be a huge help, Iinchou who has a useful alice but is physically weak, Anna and Nonoko who don't seem all that useful in saving Mom but would clearly be supportive, and Natsume who may help if I get more on his good side. Can Kazuma-san and Persona help? I'm not sure yet. They seem like they can help but are they just acting? I can't trust them fully yet…'

Hotaru flew by on her duck scooter but then she stopped a couple feet ahead of me. She looked back at me with the same cold stare as always.

"When are we going to go save Yuka-san?" She finally said.

"As soon as I find enough 'useful' allies to help us. Like she said, I can't go against the Vampire King and the vampire knights alone. I also need to find that power that Mom mentioned. I have to become stronger!" I replied and walked to her. "There are so many things I have to do, but… I only have till the end of this month! What can I do, Hotaru!"

"The end of this month? I haven't heard about that." Hotaru narrowed her eyes.

"He… The Vampire King appeared in my dream last night. He showed me what Mom was going through; it was absolutely _horrifying_, Hotaru! He's giving me till the end of the month to decide whether or not to take his side on the throne! If I don't agree then…" I felt my voice crack and I forced myself to calm down. "Anyways, the clock is ticking and I don't have enough time! There are too many things to do in such little time! I can't save her in time!"

"Calm down, Mikan." Hotaru said and put her hand on my shoulder. "We'll make it in time. I'll make sure of it."

"Thanks, Hotaru…" I whispered.

"For now, we need to find those allies. Among them, maybe you'll find that one person that Yuka-san told you that you need to love." Hotaru said. "Start with our class, then move on to your ability class."

"Okay." I nodded.

"I'm sure you've already realized this, but Hyuuga can become an extremely powerful ally. It'll be hard, but make sure you're on the right side of him." Hotaru advised.

"I'm working on that. So far, so good." I nodded again.

"Good. Now…" Hotaru got back on her scooter. "I'm off to class before you make me late." Hotaru sped off, leaving me in a whirl of dust.

Just then, the warning bell went off and I realized that while Hotaru would make it in time with time left over, I would not if I continued walking. I quickly checked around to see if there was anyone around then snapped my fingers, making my wings appear. I leaped straight up a hundred feet in the air and flew my way to the school building. I went slowly on and when there was only one minute left, I landed and ran the rest of the way to add to my 'clumsy' image. I made it in just as the final bell rang and faked being exhausted.

"I… made it…" I panted. "Ohayou, everyone!"

"Ohayou!" Anna and Nonoko replied.

"Jin-Jin is coming!" Kokoroyomi – which I found out his name using my Identity alice – announced.

I mimicked everyone else's actions and hurried to my seat, stumbling in the process. I saw that Natsume was already here and completely ignored my presence.

"Ohayou, Natsume!" I whispered to him just as the door flew open and a strict-looking old man stepped in.

Natsume ignored me, but I didn't mind it. The teacher placed his things on the podium and opened a thick text book. He adjusted his glasses with his middle finger and glanced up at the class.

"Where is the new student? Stand up." He barked.

I shot up from my seat and my body went stiff.

'This teacher reminds me of my strictest teacher when I was training! It's like he's back to haunt me!' I thought and checked his alice. 'Lightning alice! Ouch… It really is the return of sensei…'

"Name, alice, and star ranking." It wasn't a question or a request; it was an order.

"Mikan Sakura, Nullification alice, single star, sir!" I stuttered.

"I am your math teacher, Jinno-sensei. Do not disrupt my class or the punishment will be severe. Alices are also forbidden to be used during class." He glared at me. "Do you understand?"

"Y-yes, sir!" I nodded.

"Then sit down. You will share a text book with Hyuuga until you get yours." Jinno said. "Everyone open to page 346."

I sat down quickly. Jinno turned to the board and started writing a complex equation.

"Natsume, can you get your book out?" I whispered to him.

"Didn't bring it." He muttered.

"What! Then how am I supposed to do my work!" I forced myself to keep my voice low.

"Figure that out yourself." Natsume said coldly.

'Stupid Natsume! I'll get him back for that later!' I thought.

"Sakura! Answer this equation." Jinno tapped on the board with his stick.

I stood up and looked over the equation. I don't know how to answer this! All the training I did all these years never included academics! Plus, this is math, my worst subject!

"Umm… Five?" I guessed.

"Incorrect! Are you even taking my class seriously, Sakura! Pay attention! It even tells you how to solve the problem in the text book!" His stick sent lightning sparks all over.

"I-I know the answer, sensei!" Yuu waved his hand wildly in an attempt to save me.

'Let him answer.' I mixed my Telepathy and Voice Pheromone alices together and sent him the order.

"Fine. What is it?" Jinno changed his attention to Yuu.

I sighed in relief and gave Yuu a grateful look. He smiled back.

"X equals 12, sir." Yuu said nervously.

"Hmph. Correct. Consider yourself lucky, Sakura." Jinno glared at me.

He didn't call on me for the rest of the class period and I shrunk in my seat to keep him from noticing me. I was tempted to tell Kazuma about this but decided against it.

'The class will get suspicious if he started to treat me differently suddenly.' I sighed.

After what seemed like forever, the bell rang, dismissing us.

"Your homework is all of pages 347 and 348. Write out the equations and show your work. That is all. You are dismissed." And with that, Jinno left.

"You have horrible luck to have Jin-Jin on your first real day here!" Anna and Nonoko walked to me.

"Ugh! That sucked! It was so scary!" I whined. "Thank you so much for earlier, Iinchou!"

"No problem! Just let me know when you need help again!" He smiled warmly at me.

'So correction to my impression on him earlier. Even though he's physically weak, he would definitely help.' I thought to myself.

"And Natsume! Take some responsibility too! How can I follow along if I didn't have a text book to look at!" I said angrily.

"Not my problem." Natsume said simply then walked away with that Ruka kid from before.

I glanced at Hotaru and she mouthed to me 'stop wasting time and get started, baka.' I nodded back. I looked around, scanning my classmates to see who looked useful. Mochu – Telekinesis alice, Kokoroyomi – Mind Reading alice, Sumire – Cat-dog alice (never heard of that one! I better copy that one.), Yura – Divination alice, Kitsuneme – Flying alice, Anna – Cooking, and Nonoko – Chemistry.

'I hope I have more luck with my ability classes… These guys are hardly useful!' I thought bitterly.

I didn't notice her earlier since she had blend into the corner of the room, but now that she stood up and walked out, I noticed her. Yumi was here.

"Sorry, guys! I'll be back in a second! I just remembered something I have to do!" I dashed out of the class and chased after her. "Yumi-chan!"

She stopped and glanced over her shoulder at me.

"How do you know my name?" She narrowed her icy blue eyes at me. "And don't call me so friendly-like when I don't even know you."

"What are you talking about? We-"I remembered that she had forgotten about me and stopped myself. "I heard from Iinchou who everyone is!"

"Fine. So what do you want with me?" She said rudely.

"I… I want to be friends!" I said and I was glad that I didn't have to lie; I really _did_ want to go back to being friends with her. I want to bring her back to the way she used to be before I messed everything up.

"No thanks. I don't want any friends." She waved me off like I was a fly and began to walk away again.

"Please! _Please_! I _really_ want to be friends with you!" I begged.

'Give me a chance to fix things!' I thought.

"No. Leave me alone. You're starting to get on my nerves." Yumi continued walking away.

"Yumi-cha-"I started but Hotaru put her hand on my shoulder and shook her head.

"Leave her alone for now. As much as you want to be friends with her again and fix things, you can't do it all of a sudden. You'll have to open her heart gradually over time." Hotaru said.

"But I don't _have_ time, remember! I only have until the end of this month!" I bit my lip.

"That's for saving Yuka-san. Not for Yumi." Hotaru pointed out.

"No…" I shook my head. "Once I leave to save Mom, which I'm going whether or not I have the allies and power I need, I'm not coming back. Once I save her, I'll let her escape without me. Then I'll get rid of the Vampire King once and for all. He'll pay for screwing up Mom and my life so much!"

"But that's suicide! You know you can't beat him! Plus, he has his vampire knights to back him up!" Hotaru protested and I saw a bit of concern reflected in her eyes.

"I don't care. Whether it kills me or not doesn't matter. All that matters is making him pay and to never let him bother Mom ever again, even if my life is the price." My eyes burned with determination. "I'll make him regret messing with us!"

"Mikan…" Hotaru whispered, almost sadly, then shook her head. "Then we'll just have to get all the help we can get! The better the help, the greater chance there is of saving Yuka-san and keeping you from dying!"

"Hotaru…" I smiled weakly.

"Don't get me wrong. I just don't want to see Yuka-san sad if you die!" Hotaru turned her back to me and crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Right…" My smile faltered.

"But…" Hotaru turned to face me and smiled just slightly. "I suppose I can forgive you for now."

"Hotaru!" I hugged her and she patted my head gently.

"But if you die, I'll never forgive you, got it?" Hotaru said as I released her from my hug.

"Got it!" I blinked away tears of happiness.

'I'm so happy! Hotaru finally forgave me!' I grinned at her.

"Now get back in class and stock up brownie points with everyone. If you're not friends with at least half of the class by tomorrow, I'll have to remind you what my Baka Cannon tastes like." Hotaru nudged me back towards the classroom.

"Even the ones with useless alices?"

"I wish you'd stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Referring to them like tools, classifying them by useful or useless. Believe it or not, they're _all_ useful if you befriend them. Since we don't have anyone to depend on besides each other and ourselves, we developed a naturally protective nature for our friends."

"I'll try… It's just...-"

'I've been trained all these years to think of everyone this way, as well as to be doubtful of everyone. It makes whatever I have to do easier. But I can't tell Hotaru that… I can't tell her that one of the biggest reasons for this was to kill anyone who got in my way…' I thought sadly.

"I'll try." I repeated, this time forcing a bright smile.

"Good girl."

"Oh, yeah! I'll give these to you so you can contact me at any time." I produced two alice stones from my hand: one a light, translucent blue color, the other a dark, deep blue. "The light-colored one is a Telepathy alice. The dark-colored one is an Amplification alice. That's so the Telepathy alice would reach as far as you needed it to."

I reached out my hand, palm up, and she placed hers over mine so that her hand would cover the alice stones. The stones dissolved into her skin nearly immediately. As soon as she had completely received the stones, she pulled her hand away and examined it.

"And don't worry; the alice won't fade away with use like normal alice stones so you can use it as much as you'd like." My hand fell back to my side.

'Thanks.' I heard Hotaru test out the alice. 'See you later.'

I watched Hotaru walk away until she turned around the corner, then I finally turned back to the classroom. I walked in and found everyone in the same place as they were before I left. The only difference was that two more students joined them.

They were talking animatedly but when they saw me, they stopped and waved me over. I happily complied and skipped over. They spread out and made space for me in their circle. I was happy to know that this group would easily accept me.

"Did you get whatever you had to do settled?" Yuu asked.

"Mmhmm." I nodded.

"I guess this would be our first time meeting face to face. I'm Kokoroyomi, but you can call me Koko." Koko introduced himself. "By the way, I have the Mind Reading alice."

"And I'm Kitsuneme. I have the Flying alice. Nice to meet you, Sakura." Kitsuneme floated cross-legged.

"Nice to meet you both! I hope we can be great friends!" I grinned.

I could tell with a glance that they were both followers so they would be easy allies but… Koko was a bit unnerving. Not only did he have a single expression on his face that seemed to never change, but his mind was completely blank other than being filled with the random thoughts of others. He was an odd character and I had the feeling that he would take a little getting used to.

"What were we talking about before?" Nonoko tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"We were talking about how unfair Jin-Jin is, remember?" Anna reminded her.

"Oh, right!" Nonoko slapped her forehead and laughed.

"I know that you must feel a bit uneasy about the teachers since your first one was Jinno-sensei, but the other teachers really aren't that scary at all." Yuu said to assure me. "But don't hesitate to depend on us, whether it's for classes or your problems. We all try to look out for each other, and of course that would include you now."

"We're all like family so it's natural, right?" Anna said.

"Right!" Nonoko agreed.

"After all, we're gonna be together for a long while." Koko added.

"We better set up some good relationships since we'll be together for the long run, whether we like it or not." Kitsuneme nodded.

'So this is what Hotaru meant by a naturally protective nature… Unlike me, they can't leave until they graduate so they'll be strapped together no matter what they do. I guess it's natural to build up good relationships with everyone like Kitsuneme said.'

"Thanks, everyone! I'll try not to depend on you too much! But you can depend on me too (though I can't guarantee that that's the best choice)!" I said and for once, I was truly touched. I hadn't heard a person say that I could depend on them since… since I left everyone behind… I wasn't even allowed to depend on my teachers when I was training. I had forgotten what it was like to be touched by true, pure kindness, even if it wasn't completely reliable.

"Oh, shoot! Sorry to change the subject on you, Mikan-chan, but I just remembered that today is a joint class day! I have to leave early today to help senpai with a new recipe!" Anna said suddenly.

"You should leave early too, Mikan-chan! Just in case if you get lost, you know? Do you know what class you're in?" Nonoko asked.

"I think sensei said the Special Ability class..."

"Oh..." Anna and Nonoko said in unison.

"What? What's wrong with that class?"

"Well... There's nothing really _wrong_ with it..." Anna said slowly.

"It's just..." Nonoko bit her lip.

"Where all the weird kids are gathered up." Koko said bluntly.

"Weird kids?" I repeated.

"Who you callin' weird?" A voice said from behind me and we all whirled around.

An older boy from the High School Branch leaned against the doorframe. He was good-looking with a face like a movie star. His slightly-slouched posture and incorrectly worn and wrinkled uniform screamed 'laidback'. His eyes were lazy and bored-looking but his voice, raised eyebrows, and smirk reflected amusement at Koko's statement.

"S-sorry, senpai! We didn't mean that in a mean way!" Anna said quickly, blushing to find that he heard her.

"No offense taken." The boy laughed. "Besides, I suppose you're not entirely wrong. It's true that we're not the normallest bunch in this school."

Anna immediately relaxed and gave a weak smile. She muttered a quiet 'excuse me' before leaving and Nonoko followed close behind her. The boy moved aside so they could get past him.

"So are you the new girl Mikan Sakura?" He asked me. "Haven't seen you before so you gotta be."

"Yes, that's me." I nodded.

"Good. You'll be coming with me." He suddenly pulled out a bandana and wrapped it around my eyes.

'What the-!'

**-XOXOXOXOXOXOX-**

**Author's Note: Oh my god! Is this what I think it is? An update at last? It can't be! ...But it is!**

**I finally got around to finishing this chapter! Aren't you so proud of me? But there's more! Summer vacation is right around the corner (Literally. Tomorrow is the last day of school!) so I can start writing more! No more year long waits! Throw the confetti!**

**What's the best way to celebrate my return? A cliffhanger! Muahaha! I shall see you soon in the next chapter! Bye bye!**


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